In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court has granted permission to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Southern Railway to dismantle the Vilayattu Vinayagar Temple situated at the Ranganathan Street junction of Railways Border Road in T. Nagar. The court’s decision allows for the temple’s demolition, with the condition that the murtis be relocated to another site within 15 days.

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

As reported in The Hindu, 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,”.

In the event that the temple’s management fails to comply with the court’s directives, the railway administration has been granted the authority to take necessary action. Additionally, the court clarified that after reconstructing the temple at an appropriate location, the idols can be reinstalled, following customary procedures.

These orders were issued as part of the dismissal of two writ petitions filed in 2018 by the temple and its four tenants. These petitions opposed the steps taken by the GCC to evict them, along with 22 other encroachers. The GCC initiated these actions to facilitate the construction of a skywalk connecting a railway footover bridge to the T. Nagar bus terminus, as well as the construction of a staircase and an escalator.

Despite the temple’s claim that its 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, the Division Bench did not accord credibility to the civil suit.

The court opined, “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, the author of the judgment, also rejected the temple’s argument that the Corporation lacked authority over government property. The court emphasized that encroachment on a busy thoroughfare must be addressed promptly.

The ruling DMK government has demolished 100s of temples since the day they took over. In the name of encroachment, several such small temples are demolished; not to forget the ancient ones. However, no questions are ever raised about encroachments done by churches and mosques in the state. The land owned by Kapaleeshwarar temple for example is occupied by Loyola College, a Jesuit institution even after the expiry of its lease.

However, Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department Minister PK Sekar Babu denies the allegations that the college is built on temple or encroached lands, as reported in The New Indian Express.