The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday (July 17, 2026) granted interim bail, till August 4, to Sub-Registrar Justin Manikandan Subramanian who has been placed under suspension in the case of fraudulent registration of Palani math land.

Justice K. Rajasekar directed the petitioner to report before the CB-CID at 10.30 a.m. every day from July 27 till August 3, except on Sunday, and co-operate in the investigation. The court was hearing an anticipatory bail plea from Justin Manikandan Subramanian.

Grabbed with fabricated records: prosecution

The prosecution case is that the property belongs to a math. It is alleged that it was grabbed with fabricated records and in collusion with officials, including those of the Registration Department. The petitioner, who was working as the Sub-Registrar, is alleged to have registered the disputed document. Apprehending arrest, Justin Manikandan Subramanian filed the petition.

Senior counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner had been falsely implicated merely on the premise that he had registered the disputed document. According to him, the entire process was completed by the then Sub-Registrar, S. Balasundar. The petitioner merely assigned the document number and forwarded the document to the Collector (Stamps).

The State government said it had taken a serious note of the manner in which the math property was allegedly grabbed and even the District Registrar, a suspect in the case, had been placed under suspension. It was the petitioner who was in charge when the regular Sub-Registrar was on leave and completed the registration by assigning the registration number. Therefore, there was a strong suspicion about the role played by the petitioner. The larger conspiracy behind the registration of the document was still under investigation and sufficient time was required to ascertain the role of each accused person. The petitioner was involved in two previous criminal cases of a similar nature, it said.

The judge said that as on date, the allegation against the petitioner was that by assigning the registration number, he had completed the process of registration. At the same time, the prosecution had taken a specific stand that the larger conspiracy was still under investigation and the exact role of each of the accused persons was yet to be ascertained.

The court said that since the FIR was registered only recently, there should be no impediment to the probe. However, given that the substantial part of the registration process had already been completed by the then Sub-Registrar and to balance the interests of the investigation and the liberty of the petitioner, the court said it was inclined to grant interim protection to the petitioner with certain conditions. It scheduled further hearing for August 4.

Inquiry under way

Meanwhile, CB-CID SP Shajitha conducted an inquiry with officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments and Registration Departments in Dindigul. A CB-CID team held an inquiry in Palani. The CB-CID commenced its probe in the case of fraudulent registration of 1.35 acres of land belonging to Arulmigu Dhandapani Swamigal Madam at the foothills of Palani in Dindigul district on Thursday.