bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem who sought the quashing of the GO A bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem who sought the quashing of the

Tamil Nadu
Blocking of temple land registrations: Madurai Bench of Madras HC stays govt order
The petitioner contended that the GO violated the property rights of the deities and prevented the officials and trustees from discharging their duties to protect the properties of temples.
A bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem who sought the quashing of the GO
A bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem who sought the quashing of the GO(Representative image)
Jegadeeswari Pandian
Updated on:
12 Oct 2025, 8:06 am
2 min read
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MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday, in an interim order, stayed the operation of a Government Order that restrained the registration department from unilaterally blocking or unblocking registration of lands based on requests from the HR&CE (Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments) and other departments.

A bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem who sought the quashing of the GO on the ground that it prevents the HR&CE authorities and temple trustees from protecting the properties of religious institutions.

The petitioner contended that the GO violated the property rights of the deities (who are considered minors with the HR&CE officials and trustees as guardians) and prevented the officials and trustees from discharging their duties to protect the properties of temples.

The petition also pointed out that nearly 9,866 cases relating to illegal encroachment and sale of temple properties across the state are pending before district revenue officers, and the GO would lead to illegal alienation of temple properties if the registration of such temple lands is not blocked.

The impugned GO, which was passed by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department on September 30, 2025, stated that HR&CE officials were filing appeals before revenue officials to cancel pattas that stood in the name of individuals in updated revenue records (UDR records) and transfer them in favour of temples claiming that those lands were recorded in the name of the temples in older revenue records like pre-UDR records and Inam Fair Registry.