In a case that has stirred legal and social attention in Tamil Nadu, the Madras High Court has issued notices to five IAS officers for allegedly failing to comply with a court order to remove an encroachment on temple land. The land in question is currently occupied by St. Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School, which has been operating on temple property for years.

The contempt petition was filed by S Vinoth Raghavendran, who serves as the State Secretary of the BJP’s Spiritual and Temple Development Wing. He alleged that despite a clear directive from the High Court in April 2024, which instructed authorities to identify alternate land for the school, no meaningful action has been taken.

In its latest move, the bench of Justice K.R. Sriram and Justice Sunder Mohan has served notices to several high-ranking officials for non-compliance. These include:

• P Amudha, Secretary, Department of Revenue and Disaster Management

• S Madhumathi, Secretary, Department of School and Education

• Dr. B Chandramohan, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Culture, HR and CE

• PN Sridhar, Commissioner, HR&CE Department

• Sibi Adithia Senthilkumar, District Collector, Cuddalore

Additionally, two Joint Commissioners from the HR&CE Department are also named in the notices. All officers have been asked to appear in person before the Court on July 10.

According to the original plea, the land occupied by the school belongs to the Devanathaswamy Temple in Thiruvanthipuram, located in the Cuddalore district. Despite ongoing legal pressure, the encroachment has remained untouched.

In 2009, the school itself had filed a writ petition seeking protection. A decade later, in 2019, a single-judge bench directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide at least 4.5 acres of alternate land in or near Bhuvanagiri village to ensure minimal inconvenience to the students.

Yet, even after five years, the proposal to relocate the school remains pending with the state government. In April 2024, the High Court had extended a six-month deadline for the authorities to execute the relocation and vacate the encroached land.

"Despite the extension granted, no steps have been taken by the State authorities to provide an alternate site for the school, and to ensure the removal of the encroachment of the temple land," said the petitioner in his contempt plea.

The Court had also taken into account broader issues concerning illegal occupation of temple properties across the state. The HR&CE Department had previously assured the Court that a comprehensive survey of all temple lands would be completed within three months and legal action would follow wherever encroachments were found. This assurance had led the Court to dispose of the initial writ petition.

However, due to the authorities' failure to act on both land allotment and promised survey, the petitioner has returned to the court. In response, the High Court issued contempt notices to the officials who held these key posts during the period in question. Notably, one of the Joint Commissioners from the HR&CE Department remains unnamed in the official records.

The case—S Vinoth Raghavendran v. Ms. P. Amudha and Others (Cont P 519 of 2025)—is scheduled for its next hearing on July 10, and the outcome could set an important precedent on accountability for the protection of temple properties in Tamil Nadu.