Financial irregularities in Vadapalani Murugan temple improbable, says former High Court judge

He had inquired into the matter independently at the request of the temple’s Thakkar

A former judge of the Madras High Court, Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, has opined that the allegations of financial irregularities and disrespectful and rude behaviour by staff of the Arulmigu Vadapalani Andavar Thirukoil (Vadapalani Murugan temple), Chennai, are “improbable”.

Last month, Justice S.M. Subramanian, a sitting judge of the Madras High Court, had lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department alleging that financial irregularities and misbehaviour by certain staff of the temple.

The judge, who had visited the temple with his wife and daughter, found that the staff had issued one ₹5 token and two ₹50 tokens for darshan, after collecting ₹150. He said when he took up the issue with the staff, they had behaved rudely and also refused to share the phone number of the temple’s Executive Officer.

While the HR&CE Department began an inquiry into the issue and submitted its report, Mr. Sathyanarayanan examined the issue independently at the request of L. Adimoolam, the temple’s Thakkar. According to Mr. Adimoolam, the former judge’s report on the issue had been submitted to Justice Subramanian.

In the report, prepared after examining the footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed on the temple premises and questioning the staff concerned, Mr. Sathyanarayanan held that a single instance (of issuing a token of wrong denomination) ‘may not lead to the presumption of grave financial irregularities.’ In the instant case too, he said there appeared to have been an “inadvertent mistake” in issuing a ₹5 token instead of a ₹50 one.

Besides, the temple’s audit has been completed till 2020-21 and no financial irregularities were found by the Audit Department, he added. Citing CCTV camera footage, he said one of the staff, Ravichandran, could be seen standing with his hands “politely folded behind.” Going by the body language, the ex-judge felt it was improbable that he would have behaved rudely.