The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench has temporarily barred the registration of sale deeds involving 108 acres of land linked to Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple, directing officials to prevent transactions until November 5. The interim order covers registration offices in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli Joint-3, Musiri and Karur Kulithalai.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel on a petition filed by Tiruchirappalli resident Sampathkumar. The petition raised questions about the status and administration of land in Thimmarायasamuthiram, Allur, Veeraswaram and other areas.
According to the report, documents signed in 1887 by Kodiyalam Vasudeva Iyengar and Kodiyalam Seshadri Iyengar provided for the creation of a trust to carry out religious services and charitable activities. The documents also established arrangements for conducting religious rituals at Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple and other temples.
The land in question was described as having been donated to generate revenue required for those religious and charitable purposes. The petition argued that the properties could not be treated as private assets and that authorities needed to examine their current status. It also sought an order preventing the concerned sub-registrars from registering sale deeds relating to the land.
The High Court’s interim direction is intended to preserve the properties from transactions while the matter remains before it. The order does not, based on the report, amount to a final determination of ownership or conclude the broader dispute over the land’s legal and administrative status.
The case highlights the role of registration offices in preventing transactions when a court places property under interim protection. The offices named in the order will be required to observe the restriction covering the identified properties until the date specified by the bench.
The dispute also places renewed focus on the documentation and administration of land attached to religious and charitable institutions. The reported 1887 documents are central to the petitioner’s claim that the land was dedicated to support religious services rather than held as ordinary private property. The court has directed that the properties be protected from transactions pending further proceedings.
The interim restraint will remain in force until November 5, when the matter is scheduled for further consideration, according to the report.
