The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department to maintain status quo in respect of establishing a college on the land belonging to Athanur Amman Temple in Tiruchengode taluk in Namakkal district.
Justice R Suresh Kumar granted the injunction while passing interim orders on a writ petition from Tamilarasi Deivasigamani, recently and posted the matter for further hearing on January 4.
The petition opposed construction of the college on the temple land.
The judge noted that a division bench of this Court, in a recent order, having considered these kind of proposals by the State government/HR&CE department to establish Arts and Science Colleges in the needy places, had made it clear that even for establishment of colleges through the HR&CE department, the temple land shall not be exploited.
It had held that the colleges already established by the department were subject to the decision to be taken by the bench. When that is so, as of now the present proposal made by the HR&CE department to establish a college in the land belonging to the Amman temple, whether is justifiable or not, should be gone into only after getting response from the department as well as the temple.
“In that view of the matter and based on the prima facie case, this Court feels that, while granting time to the respondents to file their written response/counter affidavit, there shall be an order of status quo as of today in respect of the temple land of 14.59 acres in Chittlandur village, until further orders,” the judge said.
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