Madras High Court issues contempt notice to 5 IAS officers

Violation of Madras High Court order to remove encroached St Joseph School from temple land

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) – The Madras High Court has issued contempt notices to five IAS officers from Tamil Nadu for failing to act on its order to remove the St Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School that has encroached on Devanatha Swamy temple land. Notices have been issued to:

S Madhumathi, Secretary, School and Education Department;

Dr B Chandramohan, Secretary, Tourism, Culture, Human Resources, and CE Department;
P N Sridhar, Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department;
C B Aditya Senthilkumar, Collector, Cuddalore;
and two Joint Commissioners of the Human Resources and CE Department.
All officers have been directed to remain personally present at the next hearing on 10 July.

1. This petition was filed by S Vinod Raghavendran, State Secretary of the BJP’s Spiritual and Temple Development Cell. He alleged that the State officials failed to implement the Madras High Court’s April 2024 directive, which had instructed the Government to find alternate land for the school.

2. In the petition, Raghavendran claimed that the land in Cuddalore where the St Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School operates belongs to a Hindu temple. Despite multiple efforts, the encroachment has not been removed.

3. Back in 2009, the school itself had approached the Madras High Court. During the hearing, the Court directed the State Government to allot 4.5 acres of alternate land within six months. The Government’s counsel informed the Court that no alternative arrangement had been made yet. The school insisted on continuing there so that students are not inconvenienced.

4. Subsequently, in April 2024, the Court granted the Government an additional six months to provide alternative land — yet no steps have been taken till date.

5. Petitioner S Vinod informed the High Court that the State Government has made no attempt to find alternate land for the school, nor has it decided when to remove the illegal encroachment on temple land.