The Madras High Court has sought the response from the State on a plea seeking publication all information mandated under Section 4(1) (b) (c) and (d) of the Right to Information Act involving funds and properties of Hindu Religious Institutions issued by authorities in the HR and CE Department, within a reasonable time.

The Court was considering a Writ Petition seeking direction to State to publish information like notifications, approvals, tenders, and other notifications involving funds and properties of the religious institution on to the website maintained by the Department.

The Bench of Justice V. Lakshminarayanan observed, "It is nobody's case that the HR and CE Department has become dysfunctional post 2022. The Department claims it is vibrant and is taking care of all the requirements that is required by the religious institutions in the State of Tamil Nadu. The provision on which Mr.B.Jagannathan relies upon is under the Right to Information Act under Section(4)(1)(b)(C) and 4(1)(b)(d). Though the petitioner has sought for an injunction for carrying out uploading all the notifications, the interim prayer and the final prayer are more or less on the same lines. Hence, for the present, I am not inclined to pass the mandatory direction without hearing the respondents."

The matter was accordingly adjourned to October 29, 2025.

Cause Title: T.R. Ramesh v. The State Of Tamil Nadu

Appearances:

Petitioner- Advocate B. Jagannathan,

Respondent- Standing Counsel S. Ravichandran, Standing Counsel Vigneswaran

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Madras High CourtJustice V. Lakshminarayanan

Sheetal Joon