Madras High Court grants permission to demolish the Vilayattu Vinayagar Temple[ Tamil Nadu, India ]

[ Reported as seen ]

The Madras High Court has granted permission to demolish the Vilayattu Vinayagar Temple situated at the Ranganathan Street junction of Railways Border Road in T. Nagar. Although, the condition is that the sacred idols be relocated to another site within 15 days.

The Second Division Bench, consisting of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and K. Rajasekar, determined that the temple lacked legal ownership of the land on which it was built, based on revenue records indicating that the temple stood on government land designated as a public road, and classified the situation as a clear case of encroachment.

As per the media, the Division Bench’s order stated, “When there is an encroachment, the same has got to be removed in the considered opinion of this court. A direction is issued to the temple authorities to shift the deities to another place within 15 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order without causing any damage to them.”

If the temple’s management fails to follow the court’s orders, the railway administration has been given the ability to take appropriate measures. Furthermore, the court noted that after rebuilding the temple in an acceptable site, the idols might be restored in accordance with usual procedures.

These rulings were granted in connection with the rejection of two writ petitions brought by the temple and its four tenants in 2018. These petitions were filed in opposition to the GCC’s efforts to remove them and 22 other encroachers. These steps were taken by the GCC to allow the building of a skywalk connecting a railway footbridge to the T. Nagar bus terminus, as well as the construction of a staircase and an escalator.

The temple claimed that four tenants had been paying rent to it for the past three decades and one tenant had obtained a civil court decree affirming their lawful tenancy in the property. However, he Division Bench did not take it to be credible enough.

The court said, “The suit appears to be a collusive one between the temple and the tenants. Therefore, we are not inclined to accept the same. Since the temple itself has been ordered to be removed, there is no other option for the tenants, who, under the guise of paying rents to the temple, are taking shelter in occupying government land illegally, which is nothing but an attempt to encroach upon government land.”

Justice Vaidyanathan, further the temple’s contention that the Corporation lacked power over government property was rejected. The court emphasised the need of dealing with encroachment on a key road as soon as possible.

It must be noted that after taking power, the current DMK government has razed hundreds of temples. Several such tiny temples, not to mention the old ones, have been razed under the guise of encroachment. However, no objections are ever made about the state’s churches and mosques encroaching. Even when the lease for the Kapaleeshwarar temple expires, Loyola College, a Jesuit school, occupies the site.