Will T.N. govt. acquire Chennai house in which Saint Vallalar resided in the 1800s, asks Madras High Court

The Madras High Court questioned the state government on Thursday about its willingness to purchase a house in Chennai where Saint Vallalar once lived in the 1800s. A panel of Justices G. Jayachandran and E. Manoharan instructed Special Government Pleader R. Bharanitharan to gather information on this matter by September 10, 2026.

This query emerged during a hearing of several cases filed in 2024 against the planned construction of the Vallalar International Centre (VIC) on Peruveli land, from which devotees can view Arutperum Jothi, a perpetual lamp lit by Saint Vallalar at Sathya Gnana Sabai in Vadalur, Cuddalore district. In October 2024, another Division Bench of Justices R. Suresh Kumar and S. Sounthar had issued an interim order prohibiting the HR&CE Department and the managers of Sathya Gnana Sabai from building the VIC on the Peruveli land.

The Special Government Pleader informed the court that the HR&CE department had decided to revise the construction plan to prevent any obstruction in viewing the Arutperum Jothi. However, they plan to construct facilities like the Vivakara Salai (library) and Yoga Salai (meditation hall) adjacent to the Peruveli land without obstructing the Gnana Sabai's visibility.

The government has yet to approve the revised plan. The HR&CE department also intends to fence 71.26 acres of land owned by Sathya Gnana Sabai to curb encroachments, although 80 Cawnies (approximately 105.8 acres) donated to the Sabai in decades past have been encroached upon. The judges asked the Special Government Pleader to report back by September 10, 2026 regarding the government's approval of the revised construction plan at Sathya Gnana Sabai and the state's stance on acquiring the Chennai house in which Saint Vallalar and his brother resided in the early 1800s.