Should a Periyar statue stay in front of a temple? The Madras High Court has ordered the Thanjavur District Collector to shift the Periyar statue near the Kandiyur temple safely to another site within four weeks.
Madurai: Standing near the Arulmigu Brahmasirakandeeswarar Temple at Kandiyur in Thanjavur district, the statue of social reformer E.V. Ramasamy, known as Periyar, is to be removed and installed safely at another location within four weeks, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed on Friday, October 30, 2026. The direction is addressed to the Thanjavur District Collector [Rama Ravikumar v. The District Collector, Thanjavur and Others].
The direction came from a Division Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K.K. Ramakrishnan, on a petition filed by Rama Ravikumar.
Two accounts of who owns the land
At an earlier hearing, the Bench had asked the Thiruvaiyaru Tahsildar to inspect the statue and file a report on its origin, its location and related details.
The Tahsildar told the Court on Friday that the statue stands on poramboke (government) land and that it had been moved to its present spot during road widening work. The temple authorities saw it differently. They submitted that the statue is located on temple property, and that they had objected to its installation at the time it was put up.
What the petitioner asked for
Ravikumar stated in his petition that the Dravidar Kazhagam had installed the statue directly in front of the temple. According to the petition, political flags surround it, and it carries inscriptions from one of Periyar’s speeches declaring that there is no God.
Displaying such inscriptions on temple property, directly in front of a Hindu place of worship, was wholly inappropriate, the petitioner contended, and he sought the statue’s removal.
The direction, and what is still to come
After hearing the submissions, the Bench directed the Thanjavur District Collector to remove the statue and safely shift it to another location within four weeks. The detailed reasons are expected in the written order, which was not yet available at the time of writing.
The direction concerns where the statue is to stand. On the material available so far, it contains no finding on Periyar’s views or on the inscriptions themselves, and the Court has not ordered that the statue be taken down permanently.
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A field report, and a question the full order may answer
Statues of public figures on roadsides and public land in Tamil Nadu are a recurring subject of litigation, and courts have repeatedly called on district administrations to verify the status of the land and the permissions behind each installation. Here the Court relied on a field report from the revenue authorities before passing its direction, even as the State’s officer and the temple gave differing accounts of who owns the land.
Relocation is left with the District Collector, with the instruction that the statue be shifted safely, so the choice of the new site rests with the administration. Once available, the full order should clarify the legal basis on which the Bench acted and whether the land dispute between the government and the temple has been settled.
Case Title: Rama Ravikumar v. The District Collector, Thanjavur and Others
Bench: Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K.K. Ramakrishnan, Madras High Court (Madurai Bench)
Date of Order: October 30, 2026