Latest news with #HR&CE
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Anyone can move court to save temple land: HC
Chennai: It is an established legal doctrine that anyone concerned with a temple's welfare can bring legal action, and the court, as the guardian of public interest (parens patriae), has a duty to protect the rights and interests of the deity, has said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice A D Jagadish Chandira made the observations while dismissing two civil revision petitions filed by A A Fathima Nachiya occupying two properties belonging to Sri Chennamalleswarar and Sri Chenna Kesavaperumal Devasthanam in Park Town. The court also upheld eviction orders passed in 2000 against her late husband Mohammed Iqbal, the original tenant. The two suits were moved by Fathima challenging the temple seeking eviction and recovery of rent arrears. Following her husband's death, Fathima continued to run a business on the premises and was later impleaded in the execution proceedings. The temple initiated an execution petition in 2015, seeking recovery of possession after a gap of 15 years. The petitioner argued that the execution petitions were barred by limitation under the Limitation Act and that the original decrees were invalid as non-speaking ex parte orders. She also questioned the authority of the hereditary trustee to file and execute the suits on behalf of the temple. The court rejected these arguments, citing Section 109 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act, which exempts temple suits for possession of immovable property from limitation periods. The court ruled that the exemption extends to execution proceedings as well. The judge observed that the petitioner filed multiple applications over the years without directly challenging the ex parte decrees and delayed the legal process for more than two decades.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Murugan temple in Kodungaiyur limits revived, 10 years on
Chennai: The centuries-old Arulmigu Muthukumaraswamy Temple in Poongavanam Nagar, Kodungaiyur, witnessed a kumbabishekam (consecration) ceremony on Tuesday. The event was part of the state govt's efforts to revive core city temples that had not undergone consecration in more than a decade. HR&CE minister P K Sekarbabu oversaw the rituals. Renovation work, including the restoration of the Raja Gopuram, sanctum structures, and mandapams, were completed at a cost of 91.5lakh, funded by temple resources and donors. Since the DMK govt came to power, 3,386 temples, including 131 Murugan temples in places such as Palani, Thiruchendur, Thirupparankundram, and Vadapalani, have been restored. "Under CM Stalin's aegis, a revival of Murugan temples is underway. Kumbhabhishekams were held at Palani after 16 years and at Thiruchendur and Thirupparankundram after more than a decade. The state has invested more than 1,085cr in renovating 884 Murugan temples. The govt also hosted the grand World Tamil Murugan Conference in 2024, drawing more than five lakh attendees. Projects include the construction of towering Murugan statues at Marudhamalai (184ft), Thindal (180ft), and Kumaragiri (114ft)," said Sekarbabu. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Infrastructure improvements such as cable cars, electric lifts, and hill paths to enhance accessibility, along with annadanam and prasadam schemes, have also been introduced. "We also introduced free pilgrimages for senior citizens, student scholarships, and cultural preservation through Thavil-Nadaswaram schools," he added.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Anyone can move court to safeguard temple properties: Madras High Court
The property was originally leased out to her husband Mohammed Iqbal. The temple moved a petition in the civil court against him in 1994 and a decree was passed in 2000 for taking back the possession and recovering the rental arrears. He moved appeals against the decree and after his death, his wife Nachia pursued the litigation. She questioned the legality of the managing trustee of the temple, instead of the HR&CE department, filing the petitions on behalf of the temple for executing the decree passed in 2025 in connection with a 2000 ex-parte order for recovery of the property. The judge remarked that the petitioner has been protracting the litigation merely on some technicalities by filing many frivolous applications one after another in order to see the dispute go unresolved. Disapproving of her contention that the execution petition was barred by limitation since it was filed after a long delay and the managing trustee does not have the locus standi, the judge held that it may not be appropriate to deny the respondent-temple the benefit of exemption from the ambit of the Limitation Act under Section 109 of the HR&CE Act in recovering the possession of temple properties and arrears of rent, merely on some delay in executing the decree.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Arohara echoes as Thirupparankundram unites thousands in worship
Madurai: Thousands of devotees witnessed the consecration (Kumbabishekam) of the Arulmigu Subramaniaswamy Temple at Thirupparankundram, one of the six abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, on Monday morning. The rituals began at 5 am, with sacred kalasams taken in procession from the yagasalai to the temple vimanas. By 5.31 am, priests poured sanctified water on nine golden kalasams — seven on the 125-ft Rajagopuram, and one each on the Vallabha Ganapathi and Govardhanambigai Ambal vimanas — marking the formal culmination of the consecration. Theertham was then sprayed on devotees using drones and mounted sprayers. More than 200 Shivaacharyars conducted the rituals, which commenced on July 10 and continued for five days. A total of 75 yaga kundams were set up at the Valli Devasena Mandapam, with Vedic chants and Tamil hymns, including Thevaram, Thiruppugazh, and Kandar Anuboothi, recited by over 85 odhuvars, including women, during the concluding rituals on Sunday. Twenty-seven LED screens were placed around the temple for live telecast. Drinking water booths, ambulances, fire service vehicles, and medical camps were stationed in the vicinity for the devotees. The Rajagopuram was refurbished at a cost of ₹70 lakh funded by donors, while the total renovation cost was estimated at ₹2.44 crore. As part of the works, seven new golden kalasams were installed on the Rajagopuram and one each on the Ambal and Vinayakar sannidhis. The towers were painted in panchavarnam (five traditional colours) and treated with kalkam, a mixture of 55 herbal ingredients. On Sunday night, the idols of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar from the Meenakshi Amman Temple were brought in procession and received at the 16-pillar mandapam in Thirupparankundram early Monday. Meenakshi Temple was closed for darshan on Monday as the presiding deities were away. Shops and businesses surrounding the temple marked the occasion with electric decorations. A new LED-lit 'Vel' (spear) was installed atop the gopuram, and laser lighting illuminated the temple towers during the celebrations. The event was held amid tight security and elaborate arrangements. Around 3,000 police personnel were deployed under the supervision of City Police Commissioner J Loganathan. Traffic diversions were enforced across Thirupparankundram Taluk to manage the crowd. Speaking to reporters, HR&CE minister P K Sekar Babu said the consecration was conducted in line with Tamil Agamic traditions and reflected the Dravidian model's commitment to temple revival and heritage preservation. "Under the leadership of chief minister M K Stalin, kumbabishekam has been performed at 3,347 temples across Tamil Nadu so far, including 124 Murugan temples since this government took office," he said. He urged devotees to be patient and make use of the ongoing 48-day mandala abhishekam period for darshan. "The spiritual merit extends far beyond today's event. We ask devotees to avoid unnecessary rush and plan visits accordingly," he said. He also emphasized that the event transcended politics and religion, sending a message of unity. "Thirupparankundram is a model of harmony where people of all castes and faiths coexist peacefully," he added. Commercial taxes minister P Moorthy, Thirupparankundram MLA Rajan Chellappa, state BJP president Nainar Nagenthiran, Madurai collector K J Praveen Kumar, and Madurai Corporation commissioner Chithra Vijayan also participated. MSID:: 122442068 413 |
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Asia's tallest Murugan statue to be set up at Thindal temple
Erode: Ministers Sekar Babu and S Muthusamy on Sunday said Asia's tallest Murugan statue would be set up at the Murugan Temple at Thindal. "Benefactors are coming forward to finance the construction of the 186ft tall Murugan statue at Thindal. " Muthusamy said the statue would be made of cement. "The plinth will be 3.5ft tall and it will be made of black granite. The hill, where the statue will come up, is 50ft tall. Hence, the statue will look taller than its actual height. The infrastructure will be planned to accommodate five times the current number of devotees visiting the temple." Sekar Babu said the Dravidian model govt under the leadership of chief minister M K Stalin was committed to renovating temples. "During our governance so far, 3,325 temples, 125 of them Murugan temples, have been consecrated. By the end of this year, the number of temples consecrated is expected to reach 3,500." The HR&CE minister said 46 temples, including Thiruparankundram Arulmigu Subramania Swamy Temple, first in the line of six abodes of Murugan, would be consecrated on Monday. He said the govt had allocated a record subsidy of Rs1,120 crore to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department since it assumed office. He said the Palani temple would get a facelift at a cost of Rs416 crore, while Tiruchendur temple would be renovated at a cost of Rs98 crore. Work on installing lifts at Marudhamalai and Swamimalai temples is currently in progress. He said the work on renovating Tiruchendur temple was likely to be completed by October. "Road work for Tiruttani temple and Siruvapuri temple is also underway at a cost of Rs67 crore and Rs57 crore, respectively."
