'No evidence absolutely,' Madras HC quashes temple fund misappropriation case against 3 HR&CE staff, details
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The Madras High Court has recently dropped corruption charges against three employees of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department in a case alleging misuse of temple funds through fake bills. Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan ruled in favour of petitions filed by S Rameshkumar, N Kuttalam and A Mohana Kumar, who had asked the court to quash proceedings pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Nagercoil.
Prosecutors alleged that fake bills had been drawn up to claim expenses linked to temple festivals, with cheques subsequently issued, countersigned and cashed. They further claimed that the cashier had encashed these cheques and that the proceeds were then split among those accused.
The Court further held that letting the trial continue against them would achieve nothing, stating that doing so "would tantamount to malafide and abuse of process of law, forcing the petitioners to undergo the rigours of the trial." It therefore quashed the case against the three petitioners, while directing the trial court to proceed against the remaining accused as per law.
Senior Advocate Hasan Mohamed Jinnah represented the petitioners, assisted by Advocates J R Archana, A Damodaran, A S Neela Narayani, G Nareshkumar, M Karthikeyan and T Vanitha, while Advocate R Ganesh Kumar appeared for the State.
The case stemmed from claims that a Deputy Commissioner/Executive Officer at the HR&CE Department's Suchindram office, along with other staff, had siphoned off temple funds by submitting forged bills for Paditharam and Thiruvizha-related expenses between 2004 and 2006. The three petitioners had been named accused numbers 5, 8 and 12, facing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as several IPC provisions, including Sections 409, 465, 468, 471, 477A and 120B.
Prosecutors alleged that fake bills had been drawn up to claim expenses linked to temple festivals, with cheques subsequently issued, countersigned and cashed. They further claimed that the cashier had encashed these cheques and that the proceeds were then split among those accused.
The petitioners, for their part, argued that the case really centred on the first accused, who they said had been responsible for preparing the bills and related documents. They maintained there was nothing to suggest they had forged bills or misappropriated any funds, adding that some of those implicated had been pressured and threatened into signing bills as though they had genuinely incurred festival-related expenses. One petitioner, who worked as a cashier, said he had simply cashed the cheques and passed on the money as instructed.
#MadrasHighCourt quashes criminal proceedings against three HR&CE officials in an alleged temple fund misappropriation case, observing that there was absolutely no evidence to support the charges.#CriminalLaw #HRCE #TempleAdministration #Madras
— India Legal (@indialegalmedia) June 30, 2026
The Court observed that witness testimony pointed to the first accused as the one who had prepared the bills and records. It also noted that shop owners whose names appeared on the bills had stated that their shops had never actually issued them. Even so, the Court found no evidence linking the three petitioners to any specific wrongdoing. "Therefore, to substantiate the charges, there is absolutely no oral or documentary evidence as against the petitioners," it observed.
The Court further held that letting the trial continue against them would achieve nothing, stating that doing so "would tantamount to malafide and abuse of process of law, forcing the petitioners to undergo the rigours of the trial." It therefore quashed the case against the three petitioners, while directing the trial court to proceed against the remaining accused as per law.
Senior Advocate Hasan Mohamed Jinnah represented the petitioners, assisted by Advocates J R Archana, A Damodaran, A S Neela Narayani, G Nareshkumar, M Karthikeyan and T Vanitha, while Advocate R Ganesh Kumar appeared for the State.