Temple case THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS (Special Original Jurisdiction) W.P.No. of 2026 B. Santhanam (M/ years old) Social Activist, Ex- Army, 29A, MAV Mummoorthy Avenue, 2nd Main Road, Kaspapuram, Chennai- 600 126. ..Petitioner -Vs- 1. The Chief Secretary
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
W.P.No. of 2026
B. Santhanam (M/ years old)
Social Activist, Ex- Army,
29A, MAV Mummoorthy Avenue,
2nd Main Road, Kaspapuram,
Chennai- 600 126. ..Petitioner
-Vs-
1. The Chief Secretary
f to Government
Namakkal Kavignar Maligai,
Fort. St. George, Chennai- 600 009.
2. The Special Commissioner and
Commissioner of Land Administration,
Ezhilagam, Chepauk,
Chennai- 600 005.
3. The Commissioner
Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments,
119, Uthamar Gandhi Road,
Tirumurthy Nagar,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai- 600 034.
4. The Revenue Secretary to Government ,
Secretariat,
Chennai – 600 009.
5. The District Collector,
Office of the District Collectorate,
GST Road,
Chengalpattu district- 603 001.
6. The Directorate of Vigilance and
Anti- Corruption (DVAC),
No. 293, MKN Road,
Alandur, Chennai – 600 016.
7. The Inspector General of Registration,
100, Santhome High Road, Mullima Nagar,
Mandavelipakkam, Raja Annamalaipuram,
Chennai- 600 028.
8. The commissioner,
Tambaram Corporation,
Elcot sez, Karappakkam,
Sholinganallur,
Chennai – 600 119.
AFFIDAVIT OF B.SANTHANAM
I, B. Santhanam, Son of Basuvalingam, Indian, Hindu, Social Activist and EX- Army aged 63 years, residing at No.29A, MAV Mummoorthy Avenue, 2nd Main Road, Kaspapuram, Madambakkam, Chennai – 600 126, do hereby solemnly affirm and sincerely state as follows:-
1. I am the Petitioner herein and I am well acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case.
2. I submit that this Writ Petition is filed seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the Respondents to take appropriate action against persons who have illegally encroached upon and occupied temple lands by obtaining pattas through forged and fabricated documents.
3. I respectfully submit that I am an ardent devotee of Arulmighu Ranganatha Perumal Thirukoil situated at Thiruneermalai, Tambaram Taluk, Chengalpattu District. As a devotee and person interested in safeguarding temple properties, I have gathered information regarding large-scale illegal encroachments of temple lands.
4. I submit that as per revenue village settlement records, the said temple originally owned lands measuring about 1050 acres. However, at present only about 157.5 acres stand in the name of the temple and the remaining lands have been illegally alienated and encroached upon by several individuals by means of fraudulent pattas and fabricated documents. The approximate present market value of the misappropriated temple lands is around Rs. 10000 Crores.
5. I further submit that similar illegal encroachments have taken place in respect of temple properties situated in and around Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram Districts, details of which are as follows:
(i) Thiruvanchery Village, Tambaram Taluk – Temple property in S.No.3/2 measuring 74 cents has been encroached upon by private individuals, though the patta continues to stand in the name of the temple.
(ii) Arulmighu Veeraraghava Thirukoil, Kancheepuram – Land in S.No.57/2 measuring 5.50 acres situated at Thiruvanchery Village was reclassified as “Anadheenam”. The patta ought to have been restored in the name of the temple. In that aspect I gave a representation to the respondents on 01.08.2025 pursuant to the same, the 1st respondent directed the 5th respondent to take action on the basis of my representation. Further the 5th respondent directed the RDO and Tahsildar to take appropriate action and also directed to furnish the details of the information to me and office of the collectorate. Though I submitted a complaint before the HR & CE Department, Kancheepuram, no action has been taken till date.
(iii) Sri Vadapalani Aandavar Temple – Lands in S.Nos.739/1 and 739/2 measuring approximately 10 acres stand in the name of the temple; however, substantial portions have been encroached upon by construction of residential apartments and subsequent alienations, as reflected in encumbrance records.
(iv) Nattarasanpattu Arulmighu Sri Alavattamman Temple – Lands in multiple survey numbers measuring about 13.52 acres have been largely encroached upon. The approximate present market value is Rs. 13.5 Crores.
(v) Nattarasanpattu Karpaga Vinayagar Temple – Lands in S.Nos.242/2D, 58/1, 58/3, 70/1A measuring 82 cents valued at approximately Rs. 0.8 Crores.
(vi) Nattarasanpattu Bhajanai Kovil – Land in S.No.199 measuring 25 cents valued at approximately Rs. 0.25 Crores.
(vii) Nattarasanpattu Sri Lakshmi Narayanan Temple – Land in S.No.198 measuring 60 cents stands in the name of the temple; however, encroachments have been made by means of forged documents. Further, land in S.No.62/1 measuring 4.62 acres has been wrongly classified as Government land though it rightfully belongs to the temple.
(viii) Siruvachur Village, Kundrathur Taluk – Temple lands belonging to various temples including Arulmighu Pillaiyar Kovil, Arulmigu Selaiamman Thirukoil, Vedagiriswarar Swamikal Temple, Madaveli Amman Temple and Arulmighu Tharuvaliswarar Thirukoil have been encroached upon.
(ix) Oorathur Village, Kundrathur Taluk – Temple lands belonging to Arulmighu Kamakshi Amman Koil, Arulmighu Agastheeswarar Swamikal, Venkatesa Perumal Swamikal and Arulmighu Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Kovil are under illegal occupation.
6. I submit that the above said temple lands are public religious endowment properties governed under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act. Several private individuals, with the collusion of certain Revenue and HR & CE officials, have fraudulently obtained pattas and effected illegal transactions in respect of temple lands for personal gain.
7. I submitted a detailed representation dated 22.12.2025 to the Respondents requesting action against the encroachers, cancellation of fraudulent pattas, initiation of disciplinary proceedings against erring officials, and restoration of temple properties.
8. Pursuant thereto, the 1st Respondent forwarded my representation to the 2nd Respondent. The 6th Respondent, by communication dated 02.01.2026, stated that verification of documents was required and forwarded the matter to the 3rd Respondent. However, no effective action has been taken thereafter.
9. I subsequently submitted further representations dated 06.01.2026 and 20.01.2026 requesting immediate action. Despite the same, the Respondents have failed to conduct enquiry or initiate proceedings, thereby enabling continued unlawful occupation of temple lands.
10. I submit that the inaction of the Respondents is arbitrary, illegal and violative of their statutory duties. There is no other efficacious alternative remedy available to me except to approach this Hon’ble Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
11. In the above circumstances, I am constrained to file the present Writ Petition seeking appropriate directions from this Hon’ble Court.
It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, Order or Direction directing the Respondents to consider and dispose of my representations dated 06.01.2026 and 20.01.2026, conduct a detailed enquiry, cancel illegal pattas issued in respect of temple lands, remove encroachments, initiate disciplinary proceedings against erring officials, and pass such further or other orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case, and thus render justice.
Solemnly affirmed to be true, Before me,
And correct to the best of my knowledge,
Belief and information and verified
on this day of Feb 2026 at
Chennai. ADVOCATE: CHENNAI
I
