HR&CE should take measures to prevent rainwater and sewage from entering temple premises.

The petitioner invoked Article 226 seeking a direction to reconstruct Arulmighu Gopala Pillaiyar Temple in accordance with the Joint Commissioner’s proceedings dated 20 March 2015.

He complained that the temple’s gopuram kalasam required repair and that raised road levels had caused rainwater to enter the temple premises; he also objected to proceeding with the kumbhabhishekam before addressing those concerns.

The HR&CE Department reported that, following heritage-committee recommendations, it had installed stone slabs at the entrance and constructed a compound wall, and that no further rainwater ingress had been reported for three years. It also reported that the kalasam had been restored and the kumbhabhishekam conducted on 27 January 2023.

The petitioner’s son informed the Registry that the petition’s object had been substantially achieved and that he did not wish to pursue it.

The petition was brought under Article 226 of the Constitution, which empowers the High Court to issue appropriate writs, including mandamus.

It records the Court’s general expectation that the HR&CE Department take necessary action to prevent rainwater and sewage from entering temple premises, particularly during the rainy season.

The Department’s status report showed that it had adopted alternative measures recommended by the State Level Heritage Committee rather than raising the temple structure, and that it had repaired the kalasam and conducted the kumbhabhishekam.

In light of those measures, the absence of reported rainwater ingress for three years, and the petitioner’s son’s indication that the petition’s object had been substantially achieved, the Court made no further specific order for reconstruction. It nevertheless noted that other ancient temples may face similar flooding problems and expressed the expectation that the Department address the risk of rainwater and sewage entering temple premises.