Madras HC Orders to Shift Periyar Statue From Temple Land

The Madras High Court has directed the Thanjavur District Collector to shift a statue of rational leader E V Ramasamy Periyar from a temple land to any other suitable place within four weeks and held that it had been installed there without obtaining permission from authorities.

A Division Bench of Justices P Velmurugan and K K Ramakrishnan, after hearing a writ petition, ordered the removal of the statue from the land of Arulmigu Brahmasirakandeeswarar Temple at



Kandiyur, in Thiruvaiyaru taluk of Thanjavur District.

In his plea, petitioner Rama Ravikumar sought removal of the statue in the light of the recommendation of the Joint Commissioner, HR and CE Department, within a time frame fixed by the high court.

In its recent order, the court said the status report filed by the Thanjavur District Collector reveals that the statue was installed on the temple land and not on the government 'poramboke' land.