Madras High Court
CONT P(MD)/964/2026 of Neelamegam Vs Manickavasakam on 11 September 2026
CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 11-09-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN
CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
Neelamegam S/o Karuppaiya,
Kottaiyurupu Village, Thiruppattur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
..Petitioner(s)
Vs
1. Manickavasakam, The Tahsildar,
Thiruppathur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
2. Frankvin Dani, Inspector of Police,
Thirupathur Taluk Police Station,
Sivagangai District.
3. Kodeeswaran, S/o. Subramaniyan,
Kottaiyirupu Village, Thiruppathur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
4. Senthilnathan, S/o. Vellaisamy,
Kottaiyirupu Village, Thiruppathur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
5. Muthukumar S/o. Kalimuthu,
Kottaiyirupu Village,
Thiruppathur Taluk,
Sivagangai District.
6. Dineshkumar S/o. Subramaniyan
Kottaiyirupu Village,
Thiruppathur Taluk,
Sivagangai District.
7. Senthilkumar S/o. Rajendran,
Kottaiyirupu Village,
Thiruppathur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
..Respondent(s)
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
Prayer : Contempt Petition filed under Section 11 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 to initiate the contempt proceedings against the Contemnors herein for their willful and wanton disobedience of the order passed by this Court in WP(MD). No.19656 of 2025 dated 04.09.2025 and pass such further or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case and thus render justice.
For Petitioner(s):
Mr.S.Kameshwaran for Mrs.A.Banumathy
For Respondent(s):
Mr.M.S.Parthiban, Government Advocate for R1
Mr.I.Murugesan, Government Advocate (crl.side)
for R2
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ORDER
The petitioner herein filed WP(MD)No.19656 of 2025. One S.Kodeeswaran filed WP(MD)No.24013 of 2025. Both the writ petitions pertain to conducting Kumbabishekam in Anthara Nachiammam Swami, Kottaiyiruppu, Thiruppathur Taluk. The writ petitions were taken up together and disposed of on 04.09.2025 in the following terms : “5.Considering the said aspect, the following directions are issued:-
a) Since the deity has been kept in Balalayam for more than a year, it is not proper to continue such an arrangement any further. For this reason, the deity shall be shifted back to the temple tomorrow. “Ganapathy Homam” alone shall be performed and there will not be any elaborate rituals. All the four temple priests
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
(Thiru.Chidambaram, Thiru.Shanmugavel, Thiru.Karthi and Thiru.Chandran) will be involved. If Chidambaram who appears to be with Neelamegam is not willing to be a part of the event, he will not be compelled. Whether to participate in tomorrow's “Ganapathy Homam” or not is left to Chidambaram's discretion and choice.
b) Thiruppani committee shall be constituted within two weeks. The committee shall have equal representation (3 + 3) from Kodeeswaran side as well as Neelamegam side. Six members will be constituted.
c) Since the temple has become quite dilapidated, the existing structure will be dismantled. The temple structure shall be dismantled immediately after Deepavali, in the first week of November, 2025.
d) A new temple shall be constructed and Kumbabishekam will be performed within a period of three months, thereafter.
e) Kumbabishekam will be held under the aegis of the Tahsildar, Thirupathur Taluk.
f) No person shall be given any first honour or privileges.
g) A common note book shall be maintained and contribution shall be received from any devotee. The expenditure for Kumbabishekam shall be met out of the funds generated for that purpose. It will not be called as Head Tax(Thalaikattu Vari).
h) The jurisdictional police is directed to close all the pending complaints. Shri. Neelamegam fairly comes forward to withdraw the complaint given to HR&CE Department and the said complaint shall also be closed by the Joint Commissioner, HR&CE Department, Thirupathur.”
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
2. The grievance of the petitioner is that even though this Court passed an order as early as 04.09.2025, till date, it has not been complied with. Thiru.S.Kodeeswaran intervened in this contempt petition and submitted that the demolition of the temple in question should not be take place without preparing an appropriate estimate and mobilisation of amount. Neelamegam informs the court that for constructing a new temple in the place of the old dilapidated temple, the cost would come to around Rs.50.00 lakhs. Kodeeswaran insisted that unless the said amount is mobilized, it may not be appropriate to demolish the old structure.
3. I called upon Thiru.Neelamegam to produce a Demand Draft for Rs.8.00/- lakhs. Today, when the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner produced DD for the said amount. I cautioned the petitioner that collection should not be made in the name of any individual and that it should always be in the name of the Thiruppani Committee. It is stated that the State Bank of India, Thiruppathur Branch had agreed to open a bank account. A bank account can be opened in the name of the Thiruppani Committee. The amounts can be deposited in the said account. No collection should be made in cash. Receipts should be issued by the Thiruppani Committee. It appears that Thiru.Kodeeswaran is not extending his cooperation. He is not present today before me. It is stated that Balalayam has already been completed.
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
4. The first respondent is directed to oversee either by himself or through the VAO. Thiru.Pandeeswaran alone is evincing interest for constructing the new temple and performing Kumbabisekam. The Thiruppani Committee comprising Mr.Neelamegam, Mr.Pandeeswaran and Mr.Chidambaram are permitted to enforce direction number (c) of the order dated 04.09.2025 made in WP(MD)Nos.19656 & 24013 of 2025 for demolishing the existing structure. It will be carried out on 17.09.2026 and 18.09.2026. On the said dates, the second respondent is directed to ensure police protection for the same. No person shall be allowed to obstruct the said demolition work. Such a direction is given because Kodeeswaran group is not extending their cooperation. Non- cooperation by one group cannot render the writ court’s direction as infructuous.
5. This contempt petition is closed accordingly. No costs. 11-09-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No SKM Note : Issue order copy on 15.09.2026
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
To
1. The Tahsildar, Thiruppathur Taluk, Sivagangai District.
2. Inspector of Police, Thirupathur Taluk Police Station, Sivagangai District.
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CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026
G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J. SKM CONT P(MD) No. 964 of 2026 11-09-2026
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