Bharath v. The District Collector
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 02-04-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M.DHANDAPANI W.P.No.12423 of 2026 & WMP.Nos.13589 & 13594 of 2026 Bharath
...Petitioner(s)
Vs
1. The District Collector, Collectorate, Namakkal, Namakkal District.
2. The Revenue Divisional officer RDO Office, Thiruchengode Namakkal District
3. The Assistant Commissioner (HR & CE) Room No.215, I floor, Government office Additional Buildings, Namakkal Namakkal District
4. The Deputy Superintendent of Police DSP office, P.Velur, Namakkal District.
5. Madeswaran
...Respondent(s)
PETITION under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records relating to the impugned order of the 2nd respondent vide proceedings dated 09.3.2026 in Na.Ka.No.756/2026/C, quash the same as illegal and consequently direct the 1st respondent to take appropriate steps and to pass orders to conduct the Masi Festival as per the existing customary ways and rights of Mahamariamman Temple, Jameen Elampalli, Namakkal District.
For Petitioner(s):
Mr.B.Janarth Kumar For Respondent(s):
Mr.S.Balamurugan, GA for R1 & R2 Mr.S.Ravichandran, AGP for R3 Mr.V.Meghanathan, GA (Crl.Side) for R4 Mr.M.Logesh for R5
ORDER
This is a petition filed by the petitioner challenging the proceedings of the second respondent dated 09.3.2026 and to issue a consequential direction to the first respondent to take appropriate steps and pass orders to conduct Masi festival as per the existing customary ways and rights of
Mahamariamman temple, Jameen Elampalli, Namakkal District.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Government Advocate accepting notice for respondents 1 and 2, the learned Additional Government Pleader accepting notice for the third respondent, the learned Government Advocate (Crl.Side) accepting notice for the fourth respondent and the learned counsel accepting notice for the fifth respondent.
3. The case of the petitioner is as follows:
(i) The petitioner claims that in the Tamil month of Masi every year, a festival is being conducted at Mahamariyamman Temple, Jameen Elampalli, Namakkal District as per the customary rights. That being so, the fifth respondent introduced himself as the dharmakartha of the temple and has been causing hindrance for conducting the festival. Hence, the petitioner was constrained to file W.P.No.8211 of 2025 seeking a direction to the second respondent and the Executive Officer of the temple to consider his representation dated 04.3.2025 to conduct the Masi
festival. The said writ petition was disposed of by order dated 10.3.2025 directing them to conduct the festival in a secular manner. (ii) Later, alleging disobedience of the said order dated 10.3.2025, the fifth respondent filed Contempt Petition No.967 of 2025 before this Court and it was disposed of by order dated 23.6.2025 with the following directions:
"7. In view of the conflicting claims that are made, and to avoid conducting a roving enquiry, it is made clear that from next year onwards, the Assistant Commissioner shall act as the observer from the beginning. It shall be ensured that the entire temple festival is conducted in a secular manner, without any reference to caste. If anybody creates commotion or employs one upmanship on the basis of the caste, he should not be permitted, and the entire festival should be conducted with the other devotees."
(iii) Subsequently, the fifth respondent filed W.P.No.9433 of 2026 before this Court against (i) the second respondent, (ii) the HR & CE Department, (iii) the Executive Officer of the temple and (iv) the petitioner seeking to direct the official respondents to consider his representation dated 09.2.2026 to conduct the Masi festival of the temple
from 10.3.2026 to 27.3.2026 in a secular manner. W.P.No.9433 of 2026 was disposed of by order dated 06.3.2026 directing the second respondent to consider the said representation dated 09.2.2026 in terms of the order dated 10.3.2025 in W.P.No.8211 of 2025 and the orders dated 27.3.2025 and 09.6.2025 passed in Contempt Petition No.967 of 2025 and pass appropriate orders thereon on or before 09.3.2026. (iv) The fifth respondent is facing various cases and has fraudulently executed and purchased the temple properties and also obtained patta in his name and in the names of his family members. W.P.Nos.194 of 2025, 49439 of 2025 and 4464 of 2026 are also pending against him for removal of encroachments. In the meantime, I.A.Nos.48 and 49 of 2025 filed by the fifth respondent and two others seeking to get themselves impleaded as party respondents in O.A.No.20 of 2024 on the file of the Regional Joint Commissioner, HR & CE Department, Erode were dismissed on 19.1.2026.
(v) Pursuant to directions of this Court, the second respondent conducted an enquiry and also a peace committee meeting and passed the impugned order dated 09.3.2026 by making it clear that under the guidance supervision of the third respondent, the temple festival should be conducted and that the fourth respondent should give police protection to the officials of the HR & CE Department. According to the petitioner, the impugned order passed by the second respondent would create law and order problem and would also create animosity between the communities. According to the petitioner, the second respondent never bothered to look into all the above facts and passed the impugned order in an arbitrary manner. Hence the writ petition.
4. This Court has carefully considered the submissions of the learned counsel on either side and perused the materials available on record and more particularly the impugned order.
5. When the matter is taken up for hearing, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the third respondent has produced a
communication dated 01.4.2026 issued by the second respondent stating that the petitioner also filed W.P.(Crl.) No.521 of 2026 before this Court against respondents 2 to 5 and the Sub Inspector of Police, Jedarpalayam Police Station, Namakkal District seeking to consider his representation dated 16.2.2026 to direct the police officials to provide sufficient Police protection to the Masi Festival from 10.03.2026 onwards for fifteen days, that the said writ petition was disposed of on 11.3.
2026 by observing that the outcome of the peace committee meeting, in which, the petitioner also participated, was that if both parties agreed to jointly conduct the festival, it could be conducted under the guidance of the third respondent and the police should give required protection to maintain law and order, that the petitioner was permitted to participate in the temple festival as per the conditions imposed in the peace committee meeting, that if there was any violation of the conditions imposed in the peace committee meeting, the police officials should take appropriate action against the person, who breached the same, that suppressing the said order dated 11.3.2026 in W.P.(Crl.) No.
respondent dated 09.3.2026, that the petitioner alone wanted to conduct the Masi festival and that the petitioner approached this Court by filing the present writ petition against the earlier orders of this Court on the impression that others did not have any right to conduct the festival. The second respondent ultimately sought to dismiss this writ petition.
6. It is not dispute that the Masi festival is already over for this year. Further, in the light of the above proceedings dated 01.4.2026 issued by the second respondent, there is nothing more to adjudicate in this writ petition. Once sufficient directions were issued, in the considered view of this Court, it is not proper for the petitioner to approach this Court by filing petitions after petitions. In addition, the petitioner has not produced any certificate regarding hereditaryship either from the competent civil court or from the HR & CE Department.
7. In view of the above, the writ petition is dismissed. No costs. Consequently, the connected WMPs are also dismissed. 02-04-2026
Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order To
1. The District Collector Collectorate, Namakkal Namakkal District
2. The Revenue Divisional officer RDO Office, Thiruchengode Namakkal District
3. The Assistant Commissioner(HR and CE) Room No.215, 1st floor Govt.office Additional Buildings Namakkal, Namakkal District
4. The Deputy Superintendent of police DSP office, P.Velur, Namakkal District RLI
M.DHANDAPANI, J.
RLI W.P.No.12423 of 2026 & WMP.Nos.13589 & 13594 of 2026 02-04-2026