Hindu temple land illagally encroached upon by Christian missionary school; refuses to vacate land despite court order
Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India 
29 August, 2019
Case Summary
In the Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, land belonging to the Devanathaswamy Temple was encroached upon by a Christian missionary school. According to reports, the Christian missionary school named St Joseph Matriculation Higher Secondary School encroached upon and has been operating on land that is legally owned by the temple. However, despite a court order, the school refused to vacate the encroached land and instead filed a case seeking alternate land from the government. In 2019, the school had obtained a court order requesting over 4.5 acres of alternative land, but the proposal remained pending with the state government for years. The Madras High Court, in April 2024, directed the state government to identify and provide an alternate land parcel for the school within six months so that the temple land could be restored. The HR&CE department also submitted that a survey of other temple properties would be conducted within three months to identify additional encroachments. However, despite the extension granted by the Court, no action was taken to comply with the order. Neither was the encroachment removed, nor was alternate land provided to the missionary school, and the possession of the encroached land remains with the school. As of the date of writing this report, the Madras High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against five IAS officers for bureaucratic delay in providing the alternate land.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack on Hindu religious representation. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Not only the Temple but the Temple premises in its entirety are considered sacred by Hindus. In several cases, the premises of the Temple and/or religious centre are illicitly taken over by institutions belonging to other faiths – like the Waqf board or the Church. Other times, the temple property, land or the property of religious centres are illicitly encroached by non-Hindu groups. Any illicit take over or encroachment is a crime an initio, however, when non-Hindu groups illicitly take over or encroach the sacred land of Hindus, it is an affront to the Hindu community and is therefore classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because temple land was encroached upon by a Christian missionary school. In Hinduism, a temple is not just a place of worship but the abode of the Deity. The entire temple premises is considered sacred and is believed to embody the divine presence. Thus, any attempt to encroach upon this land is an attack on the sanctity of the temple and its presiding deity. Such actions are seen not only as a violation of property rights but also as a direct affront to the religious sentiments and cultural heritage of the Hindu community. It's a symbolic act of erasure of the community’s spiritual and civilizational presence. The illegal occupation of Devanathaswamy Temple land by the Christian missionary school was a deliberate attempt to assert physical control over a consecrated Hindu space through illegal means. This is not an isolated case but is part of a larger pattern, where institutions belonging to non-Hindu faiths encroach upon or acquire land near temples under the garb of education, service, or social work, only to later take over the entire land or resist religious activities. In this case, the school not only refused to vacate the encroached land despite court directives, but also filed a plea demanding alternate land from the government. The sheer irony of this cannot be overstated: a Christian missionary school illegally occupying temple land, asking the state for new land instead of simply returning what was never theirs to begin with. This leads to a dangerous precedent of legitimisation of encroachment. While the court, in an attempt to protect students' interests and education, granted the state six months to provide alternate land, nothing moved forward. Due to bureaucratic delays, no land was allotted to the school. Instead of acting to remove the school from the sacred site, the entire issue was allowed to drag on through delaying tactics and inaction. As a result, the encroachment continues, and the temple remains dispossessed of its rightful land. Such deliberate inaction and tolerance of religious encroachment erode the sanctity of temples and signal a troubling indifference to the rights and dignity of the Hindu community Disclaimer: Although media coverage of the incident began on June 25, 2025, the court ruling in this case dates back to August 30, 2019, when the encroachment of the temple land was formally acknowledged by the Madras High Court. Accordingly, August 30, 2019, has been selected as the date of the incident, as the Hinduphobia Tracker records cases based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
