In response to a petition seeking a writ of quo warranto against him, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, in his counter-affidavit, asserted that the petition was filed due to his efforts in recovering temple properties worth several hundred crores. He claimed that individuals associated with the Hindu Munnani and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had unlawfully taken possession of these properties. He defended himself in the Madras High Court, stating, “Hindu Munnani and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) persons had grabbed temple lands worth several hundred crores of rupees. I have redeemed those properties from illegal enjoyment, and hence, they got irritated and filed this writ of quo warranto petition against me.” 

According to a counter-affidavit filed before Justice Anita Sumanth, Sekarbabu asserted that 5,780.97 acres of temple property worth ₹5,334.08 crore had been retrieved from illegal occupation since he assumed office as HR&CE Minister in May 2021. He emphasised, “Of the total extent, a very conservative estimate itself would show that lands worth ₹162.41 crores had been recovered from ‘Hindutva persons.'”

Charging the petitioners, he claimed, “Their self claimed religious faith is only to enjoy temple properties illegally on permanent basis. Since I made efforts with the officers of the HR&CE department to redeem those properties, they have filed the writ petition (questioning the authority under which he was continuing to be a legislator despite participating in a conclave on annihilation of Sanatana Dharma) in a mala fide manner,”

It is noteworthy that the HR&CE dept minister Sekar Babu attended the Eradicate Sanatana Dharma conference in September 2023, where Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s son and Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin compared Sanatana Dharma to dengue and malaria and said it must be eradicated.

The Hindu reported that Senior counsel N. Jothi, presenting the Minister’s case, informed Justice Sumanth that the writ petitioner J. Kishore Kumar had not contradicted the statements made by the Minister in the counter-affidavit. Despite Kumar admitting to being an office-bearer of Hindu Munnani, he asserted that he filed the case in his personal capacity. Jothi accused Kumar of insincerely expressing grievances and misusing the judicial forum, likening it to shedding crocodile tears.

In response to these statements made by Sekar Babu, temple activist TR Ramesh dissected the Minister’s statement and also laid out a few questions to him. 

In the X post he made, he wrote, 

“Let me first say no one – belonging to any party or not – should NOT encroach or occupy Hindu Temple and Endowment lands and enjoy them illegally. But let’s also dissect the statement of the Minister. 

1. According to him, he has recovered (through his Dept) a total of Rs. 5334.08 crores. Of these, Rs.162.41 Crores worth of properties were occupied by “Hindutva Persons”. 

2. This means only 3% of Temple lands recovered were occupied by “Hindutva Persons,” and 97% of lands were occupied by Non-Hindutva persons. 

3. Since the Minister has stated the exact value of lands occupied by BJP and Hindu Munnani – Will he also give the exact details of the value and extent of lands occupied by DMK party men, AIADMK party men, and those belonging to other political outfits? 

4. Will the Minister also give the details of the exact extent of occupations of Hindu Temple lands by those following Islam and Christianity?

 My specific challenge to the Hon. Minister – 

A. Can you come out with details of lands and sites belonging to Sri Vedaranyeswarar Temple, Vedaranyam, occupied by those belonging to the Muslim community?

B.  Can you come out with details of lands and sites in Vedaranyam occupied by those belonging to the Muslim community where eviction orders have been passed, but TNHR&CE dept is NOT evicting the encroachers and NOT taking possession of Temple properties?”

The Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has been tasked with appointing an official to enhance temples’ administration. However, the department appears to disregard court guidelines for all temples within its jurisdiction. This includes instances such as interfering in the Chidambaram temple activities, which falls outside the HR&CE purview, and the Tiruvannamalai temple, where the department is said to have neglected court rulings and recommendations from UNESCO. Furthermore, concerns have been raised regarding various temples where funds intended for religious purposes are being diverted towards constructing unnecessary infrastructure and acquiring vehicles for the appointed “officers” of the department.