CHENNAI: Facing a flurry of cases over its policy decision in matters concerning the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, the State government appointed four counsels, including three senior counsels, to appear for it in the Supreme Court, and the principal bench and Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.
There are around 2,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court challenging the policy decisions of the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, including the utilisation of surplus funds, appointment of executive officers, and various provisions of the HR&CE Act.
On average, 25 new cases are filed every day, and nearly 50 cases are listed for hearing daily.
Taking note of the rising number of cases, the HR&CE Commissioner had requested the government to appoint former Advocate General and senior counsel R Shanmugasundaram, senior counsel N Jothi, senior counsel AK Sriram, and counsel R Baranidharan to represent the department in these cases.
Accepting this request and obtaining the approval of Advocate General PS Raman, the government issued an order appointing these four lawyers.