The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court struck down the fraudulent real estate registration of a 1.4-acre parcel of land belonging to the Dhandayuthapani Swamy Mutt (Palani Murugan Temple). The prime land, valued at approximately Rs 100 crore, had been illegally registered in the names of private individuals using forged documents.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Karthikeyan and Sakthivel allowed an appeal filed by the Executive Officer of the Temple, who also serves as the Thakkar of the Palani Dandapani Swamigal Mutt.
The case in detail: A piece of the land is being used as a free parking bay for devotees. The land was registered in the names of two private persons on July 6, 2026.
Officials said, “The 1-acre-40-cent land was originally gifted in 1888 by one Kuppusamy Maniyakkar of Balasamuthiram to the Dhandapani Swamy Temple. The endowment was made through a dharma sasanam (charitable deed) for the specific purpose of constructing a mutt to propagate Hindu dharmic principles. The deed explicitly states that the land cannot be sold or alienated under any circumstances, as it is a public trust property.”
It has now come to light that when the Sub-Registrar of Palani was transferred to some other place, the additional in-charge registered this land in the names of Vellaidurai and Sethupathi on July 6.
Devotees said, “The Palani temple administration took possession of the land in September 2025 to safeguard it and has since maintained it as a free parking area for pilgrims. The temple’s legal status as the rightful administrator of this property has been upheld by multiple courts, including the Principal Subordinate Court of Palani, the Madras High Court, and the Supreme Court. These courts have confirmed that the land is a public trust asset and cannot be claimed by private individuals.”
They said, “The acting Sub-Registrar had illegally registered the deed in violation of the Madras High Court and Supreme Court orders and without verifying and ascertaining the status of the temple land and the written documents filed by the Mutt authorities.”
Following allegations by the Opposition — DMK, BJP and others — alleging that the HR&CE Minister’s relatives were the beneficiaries.
Reacting to this, HR&CE Minister Ramesh told the media, “After it was found that a Registration Department official had committed a lapse, the HR&CE Department took immediate steps to halt the registration.”
Ramesh said, “Despite a ban on registering these temple lands, an attempt was made on March 27 (during DMK rule) to register the property. As the registration could not be completed, the authorities issued a refusal slip on April 1. The Sub-Registrar had refused to register a sale deed relating to the property. Following this, a petition was filed before the Madurai Bench of the High Court challenging the refusal. A single judge subsequently set aside the Sub-Registrar’s refusal and directed the registration of the sale deed. Justin Manikandan, who was serving as the Sub-Registrar (in-charge), registered the document on July 6.”
Justin Manikandan was subsequently placed under suspension, while a criminal case was registered against the individuals accused of fraudulently securing the registration of the land, besides a CB-CID probe.
After hearing the appeal filed by the temple, on July 15, the Division Bench set aside the earlier order of the single judge and declared the registration of the sale deed invalid, effectively cancelling the registration of the temple land in the names of the private individuals.
Welcoming the HC order, Hindu Munnani, in a post on the X platform, said, “Madras High Court slaps a tight slap on those eyeing to loot temple land!”
Hindu Munnani cited the court order, which said Sub-Registrars should register temple lands with caution after issuing notices to all concerned and handle such matters very carefully. Notices should be sent to places of worship to ascertain their stand. The court said mere suspension is not enough. He was brought only for registering this deed. It is a verdict in support of temples, which Hindu Munnani welcomes wholeheartedly.
