Thu Dec 19 19:18:36 UTC 2024: ## Madras High Court Raises Concerns Over Sale of Chidambaram Temple Lands
**Chennai, December 20, 2024** – The Madras High Court has expressed serious concerns regarding the alleged sale of temple lands belonging to the Chidambaram Sabanayagar temple. The court is hearing a case brought by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, which accuses the Podhu Dikshidar, the temple administrators, of selling off numerous properties.
While the Podhu Dikshidar Committee denies these allegations, claiming the lands sold were privately owned by individual Dikshidars, the HR&CE department presented evidence of at least one sale deed from 1974, where temple land was sold by Vembu Dikshidar based on a will granting only possessory rights. The court noted that the land’s revenue documents clearly indicated ownership by the Sabanayagar Temple.
Justice R. Suresh Kumar and Justice S. Sounthar, presiding over the Special Division Bench, stated that this is just one example of potentially numerous instances of temple land being illegally sold. They highlighted the discrepancy between the ownership documented in the Patta (revenue document) and the sale deed, suggesting fraudulent activity.
The court has given the HR&CE Department permission to investigate further with the Registration Department to uncover more such transactions. The Podhu Dikshidar Committee has been given until December 23 to present a plan for accounting for all donations received from devotees. The court’s prima facie findings suggest significant irregularities in the management of the temple’s assets.
First Piper 