Madras HC Adjourns Pleas on CBI Probe into ₹100-cr Palani Mutt Land Scam
The CB-CID has so far arrested 11 persons in connection with the case, including advocate Anwardeen, who died while in judicial custody at Madurai Central Prison
By : M. ARULOLI
Update: 2026-08-13 09:01 GMT
Madurai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday adjourned to August 24 a batch of petitions seeking transfer of the investigation to the CBI into the alleged fraudulent registration of Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamigal mutt land worth Rs 100 crore in Palani, Dindigul district.
The CB-CID has so far arrested 11 persons in connection with the case, including advocate Anwardeen, who died while in judicial custody at Madurai Central Prison. Justin Manikandan, who was serving as the in-charge sub registrar at the Palani sub registrar’s office when the disputed documents were registered, is also among those arrested and has been suspended.
The petitions were filed by former Palani MLA Venugopal Senapathy, Annapoorani Sivakumar and Palani municipal chairperson Uma Maheshwari Pradeep. The petitioners alleged that land belonging to the Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple mutt had been fraudulently registered in the names of private individuals and questioned the credibility of the CB-CID probe, which is under the State government’s control.
The petitioners pointed out that Justin Manikandan had previously faced two cases relating to the registration of forged and fraudulent documents, yet was allowed to function as an in-charge sub registrar. Their counsel also argued that Anwardeen, who was arrested for allegedly playing a key role in the case, died within a few hours of being remanded in judicial custody after completing three days of police custody. This, they submitted, raised doubts over the investigation and wanted the investigation be transferred to the CBI.
The case is being heard by a Division Bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel. After hearing the matter on Wednesday, the Bench adjourned it to August 24.
Meanwhile, another case has been registered against suspended sub registrar Justin Manikandan for allegedly registering private land in Aykudi village near Palani using forged documents. Based on a complaint lodged by sub registrar Eswari, the police have booked Justin Manikandan, Mani, who allegedly sold the land, and Kandasamy, who allegedly purchased it.