Decks being cleared for Madurai temple consecration, State govt tells High Court

MADURAI: The Madras High Court was informed on Monday that the Kumbhabhishekam (consecration ceremony) of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple has been scheduled for September 17, during the hearing of a public interest litigation seeking the recovery and proper maintenance of the temple’s properties.

The submission was made by the State during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Radhakrishnan of Salem district, seeking directions to the authorities to recover and properly maintain the properties belonging to the Meenakshi Amman Temple and its subsidiary temples, restore the temple, and conduct the Kumbhabhishekam at the earliest.

The petition came up for hearing before a Division Bench comprising Justices CV Karthikeyan and Sakthivel.

Appearing for the State, the government counsel submitted that the drive to remove encroachments from temple properties was continuing.

The counsel also informed the court that the renovation works at the Veeravasantharayar Mandapam were nearing completion.

The work of establishing a new modern kitchen had already been awarded and would be completed by September 10.

The temple administration had decided to conduct the Kumbhabhishekam on September 17, the counsel added.

Counsel for the petitioner, however, contended that the encroachments had not been removed effectively and that the amounts identified for recovery in the audit report had still not been collected.

Recording the submissions, the High Court Bench adjourned the case to July 29.