Disposed¶36

Rajkumar, v. The District Collector

Madras HC2 Feb 2026WP(MD)/2566/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Madras High Court, Madurai Bench; WP(MD) No.2566 of 2026; decided 02.02.2026; Krishnan Ramasamy J; Article 226 mandamus; right to worship; temple locked by private individuals (respondents 3-5); Arulmigu Periyasami Temple, Tirunelveli Town; clash between two groups; Tahsildar directed to open temple; peace committee meeting; police to arrest obstructors on complaint; representation dated 15.12.2025 via RPAD; disposal at admission stage; no costs.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition disposed of with the direction that the 2nd respondent open the temple and permit public worship; liberty to the 2nd respondent to hold a separate peace committee meeting; upon complaint of obstruction by the two groups, the jurisdictional police to arrest and act in accordance with law; no costs. ¶36

Rajkumar, Vs The District Collector — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether respondents 1 and 2 should be directed to hold a peace committee meeting and to open the lock and key put up by respondents 3 to 5 on the Arulmigu Periyasami Temple, so as to restore the devotees' right to worship. +1 more

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Court's answer

When two or more groups are fighting among themselves and the right to worship is prevented, one cannot close the temple, as that prevents people from all quarters from worshipping.

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Ratio / Principle

The 2nd respondent (Tahsildar) is directed to open the temple and permit the public for worshipping.

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Key takeaways

It is open to the 2nd respondent to conduct a peace committee meeting separately to resolve the dispute between the two groups.ratio¶35
If the two groups intend to prevent the opening of the temple, the 2nd respondent is at liberty to prefer a complaint, and upon such complaint the jurisdictional police is directed to arrest them and take action in accordance with law.ratio¶35

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition (Madurai Bench) under Article 226 seeking mandamus to respondents 1 and 2 (District Collector and Tahsildar, Tirunelveli) to hold a peace committee meeting and open the lock placed by private respondents 3 to 5 on Arulmigu Periyasami Temple, Tirunelveli Town, against devotees' rights. Held: when two or more groups fight among themselves and the right to worship is prevented, the temple cannot be closed so as to prevent people from all quarters from worshipping; the 2nd respondent is directed to open the temple and permit public worship; the 2nd respondent may separately convene a peace committee meeting to resolve the dispute between the two groups; if the groups seek to prevent the opening, the 2nd respondent may complain and the jurisdictional police is directed to arrest them and act in accordance with law. Petition disposed of at admission by consent, no adverse orders on respondents 3 to 5, notice dispensed with, no costs.

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WP(MD). No.2566 of 2026

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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

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Date : 02/02/2026

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CORAM

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The Hon`ble Mr.Justice KRISHNAN RAMASAMY

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WP(MD). No.2566 of 2026

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Rajkumar ... Petitioner

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The District Collector,, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli..

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The Tahsildar,, Tirunelveli Taluk, Tirunelveli..

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Mariappan,, S/o Pandaram, 117, Kutralam Road, Tirunelveli Town, Tirunelveli..

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Subramani,, S/o Esakki, No.30, Periyasami Temple Street, Tirunelveli Town, Tirunelveli..

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Muthukrishnan,, S/o Pichumani, No.18, Samukaranga Kattalai Street,Sartharpuram, Palayapettai, Tirunelveli District.. ... Respondents

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PRAYER :- Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1^st

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1/5

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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WP(MD). No.2566 of 2026

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and 2^nd respondents to hold a peace committee meeting to open the lock and key put up by the Respondents no. 3 to 5 individually against the devotee rights in the Arulmigu Periyasami Temple, Tirunelveli Town and to consider the representation of the petitioner submitted to the respondents on 15.12.2025, through Registered post with Acknowledgement card for taking action within the stipulated time that may be fixed by this Court

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For Petitioner : M/s.K.Abiya For Respondents : Mrs.S.Malathi for R1 and R2 Additional Government Pleader

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ORDER

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The writ petition is filed for a mandamus to direct the 1 st and 2 nd respondents to hold a peace committee meeting to open the lock and key put up by the respondent Nos.3 to 5 individually against the devotee rights in the Arulmigu Periyasami Temple, Tirunelveli Town and to consider the representation of the petitioner submitted to the respondents on 15.12.2025, through RPAD for taking action within the stipulated time that may be fixed by this Court.

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2. By consent of both sides, the writ petition is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Government Pleader for the

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2/5

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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WP(MD). No.2566 of 2026

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official respondents. Since no adverse orders are going to be passed

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against the respondents 3 to 5, notice is dispensed with.

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3. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that against the respondents 3 to 5, the petitioner preferred a representation to the respondents 1 and 2 to conduct peace committee meeting with regard to allowing of all group of people to worship in the Periyasami Temple, which belong to one set of people. However, the respondents 3 to 5 have locked the temple thereby denied the right to worship. Hence, prays for appropriate direction.

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4. The learned Additional Government Pleader would submit that since there was clash between two groups of people, the temple is closed.

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5. I have considered the submissions on either side and perused the materials available on record.

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6. When two or more groups are fighting among themselves and when the right to worship is prevented, one cannot resort to close the

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3/5

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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WP(MD). No.2566 of 2026

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temple thereby preventing the people from all quarters from worshipping. Therefore, the 2 nd respondent is directed to open the temple and permit the public for worshipping. It is open to the 2 nd respondent to conduct a peace committee meeting separately to resolve the dispute among the two groups. If two groups intend to prevent the opening of the temple, the 2 nd respondent is at liberty to prefer a complaint and upon such complaint, the jurisdictional police is directed to arrest them and take action in accordance with law.

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7. With the above direction, the writ petition is disposed of. No

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costs.

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02.02.2026

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NCC : Yes/No Index : Yes/No RR

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