The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to remove shops located inside Sri Nellaiyappar Temple in Tirunelveli.
On Monday, HR&CE Joint Commissioner was summoned to explain how shops were permitted inside the temple.
The JC told a Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and G. Arul Murugan that steps were being taken to remove the shops, and notices were being served. The court directed the department to remove the shops in 12 weeks and take steps to maintain the temple.
The court had observed that as per Section 77 of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act, 1959, any lease or mortgage in respect of monuments and sculptures inside temples were null and void.
Therefore, the authority, who granted lease or rented out the portion of the religious institution, must be subjected to disciplinary proceedings and prosecution as they had not only offended religious sentiments, but also violated provisions of the Section, the court had observed.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by K. Balasubramanian of Thoothukudi district, who sought a direction to declare Sri Nellaiyappar Temple a ‘Monument of National Importance’ under Section 4 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
Dedicated to Lord Shiva (Nellaiyappar) and Goddess Parvati (Kanthimathi Amman), the temple represented a unique architectural and theological tradition where the twin shrines were connected through ‘Sangili Mandapam’, symbolising the divine union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, he said.
The temple was one of the Pancha Sabhai Sthalams, the five sacred halls where Lord Shiva was believed to have performed the cosmic dance (Ananda Thandavam), he said.
Published – August 26, 2025 10:53 pm IST
