Supreme Court blocks Tamil Nadu takeover of Nagapalayam temple land
India
The Supreme Court has blocked the Tamil Nadu government from taking over land owned by the Nagapalayam Mariamman-Ponnachiamman Temple in Kodumudi.
The land had been gifted by S Bhoopathy, the temple's temporary trustee, to the Tamil Nadu government in 2017 to build a taluk office, but the court said the transfer was not legal under state law.
Court orders Tamil Nadu pay ₹1L
The judges made it clear: temple property belongs to the deity and should serve worshipers, not government projects.
Tamil Nadu now has to pay ₹100,000 to the temple.
Still, the government can keep leasing the land for now, but must pay ₹31,000 a month and the rent shall be re-fixed once in three years under Section 34-A of the 1959 Act, but not below that amount.