Madras High Court Quashes Case Against Three HR&CE Employees in Suchindram Temple Fund Misappropriation Case

The Madras High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against three employees of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department who were accused in the alleged misappropriation of temple funds at the Suchindram Temple in Kanyakumari district. The Court held that there was no evidence to show that they had participated in the alleged conspiracy or personally benefited from the misappropriation.

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan passed the order while allowing petitions filed by S. Rameshkumar, a Special Watcher, Tr. N. Kuttalam, a Junior Assistant who served as the temple cashier, and A. Mohana Kumar, a Junior Executive and Manager of Arigesaperumal Temple. However, the criminal trial will continue against the remaining accused.

The case originated from an FIR registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department in 2018 after an audit allegedly revealed misappropriation of ₹2.96 lakh from Suchindram Temple between 2004 and 2006. According to the prosecution, the then Executive Officer fabricated bills relating to temple festivals and other expenses, sanctioned payments through cheques and misappropriated the funds.

The prosecution claimed that the three employees had countersigned the bills and cheques and were therefore part of the conspiracy. However, the petitioners argued that they had merely acted under the instructions of the Executive Officer as part of their official duties and had neither prepared the forged documents nor received any share of the money.

After examining the charge sheet and witness statements, the High Court found

that the prosecution had failed to produce any oral or documentary evidence linking the petitioners to the alleged embezzlement. The Court noted that witnesses had stated the Executive Officer prepared the fabricated bills and directed the employees to sign them, while the cashier simply encashed the cheques in the normal course of duty.

Holding that compelling the three employees to face trial without any evidence would amount to abuse of the legal process, the Court quashed the proceedings against them while directing the trial against the other accused to continue in accordance with law.