The MK Stalin led anti-Hindu DMK government came up with an illegal Government Order (GO) to takeover the ancient Sri Aadhi Kesava Perumal Temple dedicated to Bhagwan Vishnu in Mylapore, Chennai. The GO stated that it is taking over Sri Aadhi Kesava Perumal Temple in Mylapore from August 13, 2021 and appoint its own Thakkar (Chief Administrator). This move of the government was arbitrary and illegal in contravention to the law and decisions laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to denominational Temples.

NC Sridhar, the trustee of the temple for several years filed a petition challenging the highly arbitrary and unjustified GO announcing the takeover of the Aadhi Kesava Perumal Temple management in Madras High Court through his legal counsel S. Sridharan. Advocate S. Sridharan is a legal activist who has been relentlessly fighting for the past 25 years, the wrongdoings of the HR&CE department which controls over 38,400 Hindu Temples in Tamil Nadu.

Advocte S. Sridharan announced through his Twitter post that the Government Order appointing its own Chief Administrator has been withdrawn. He stated that the Trustee’s case against government taking over the Temple came up for hearing on 23.08.2021, for filing government’s counter. Instead of filing the counter, the government counsel informed the Court that the government is going to withdraw the GO.

The Madras High Court recorded the government counsel’s undertaking to withdraw the impugned Government Order and posted the matter to be heard after two weeks. The stout challenge to the illegal and arbitrary GO by the Temple Trustee through the veteran lawyer dedicated for Temple causes, has forced the anti-Hindu DMK government headed by MK Stalin to back off fearing adverse Court order in this case.

Pertinently, senior Temple activist and Temple Worshippers Society President, TR Ramesh had earlier stated that the Adhi Kesava Perumal Temple has been declared as a denominational Temple by the Madras High Court in 1954. So applying the rules and regulations for a denominational temple the HR&CE has no right to take over the temple in a hostile and arbitrary manner.


The ancient temple is also said to be the Avathara Sthalam (place of Avatar) of Vaishnavite saint poet Pey Azhvaar belonging to Thenkalai Vaishnava Sampradaya. An earlier takeover bid by HR&CE was denied by the Madras High Court by calling it a denomination Temple.


So, even if there are any allegations of mismanagement and trustees are to be replaced, it can only be done with fit people belonging to Thenkalai Vaishnava Sampradaya and not by a secular government official as done by the HR&CE illegally. Moreover, the HR&CE took the arbitrary action without assigning any reason nor giving a show-cause notice to the current management.

Therefore, it is very evident that the DMK government would have lost the case and faced the ignominy of severe strictures from the Court had it not offered to withdraw the impugned GO taking over the control of ancient Adi Kesava Perumal Temple. A similar fate seems to be looming large over the case challenging the illegal government order appointing of Archakas in ancient Temples by denying appointment to traditional Shivachariyas and Bhattachariyas trained in Gurukulams.

The Hindu Samaj in Tamil Nadu as a whole inclusive of all castes, rich and poor are up in arms against the mischievous actions by MK Stalin government destroying Hindu Temples and their traditions in a land revered and famous for its thousands of majestic ancient Hindu Temples.

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