HC stays Single Bench order that directed CBI to probe sale of land assigned by government to religious body

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday ordered an interim stay on the Single Bench order that directed the CBI to register a case and conduct a probe into the alleged illegal sale of 31.10 acres of land assigned by the government to a religious body near Moondrumavadi in Tallakulam village in Madurai.

A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and A.D. Maria Clete ordered an interim stay while hearing an appeal preferred by the CSI Madurai-Ramnad Diocese. The court sought response from the parties and adjourned the hearing.

The Single Bench had directed the CBI to register a case and conduct a probe while hearing a petition filed by D. Devasahayam. He alleged that the land measuring a total extent of 31.10 acres in Tallakulam village was assigned by the government to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), which is an American Christian Missionary Organisation, for the purpose of establishing an industrial home for needy women. In violation of the assignment condition, the land was fraudulently alienated by the CSI Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, he said.

The appellant said that the Single Bench had proceeded on the basis that the property was a government property and the same had been sold by the Diocese without any right. However, the Single Bench ought to have seen that the property was assigned to the predecessor of the Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA) on the payment of full market value as early as 1912 and as such the assignee had a right to hold the land absolutely.

Published - November 25, 2024 09:35 pm IST