No bail for official booked for helping grab disputed temple land in Salem

CHENNAI: A joint sub-registrar in the dock for aiding a man to usurp a piece of land belonging to a temple using fabricated documents failed to get any relief from the Madras High Court, which refused to grant him bail.

The Registration Department official, who has been booked in seven other cases, registered the temple land in favour of an individual despite knowing the fact that a civil suit regarding the land is pending in the court. Noting this, Justice AD Jagadish Chandira dismissed the bail plea.

The petition was moved by PR Senthamarai, joint sub-registrar, Salem, seeking bail. When it came up for hearing, the prosecution objected to the plea. It submitted that the official knew that a civil suit was pending before the court over the title of the land, but still helped the land-grabber by transferring the title by fabricating documents.

The complainant in the case is Dharmalingam, the managing trustee of Anjaneya Swamy temple in Salem. He lodged the complaint stating that his step-brother Jayachandran colluded with the petitioner to grab the property that belonged to the temple.

Based on his complaint, the Central Crime Branch, Salem, registered a case against the petitioner under 468, 471, 420 and 120 (B) of IPC.