In a move that ‘shocked the conscience of the court,’ the Madras High Court has finally ended the unusually long 19-year term of a retired judge serving as the interim administrator for a registered society. The court promptly ordered the transition of administrative control to the newly elected president.
A Division Bench, comprised of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq, expressed profound concern over the interim administrator’s nearly two-decade-long presence. They mandated that the college’s administration be transferred to the elected president within two weeks, signaling an end to the protracted interim arrangement.
Despite the unusual circumstances, the Bench acknowledged and appreciated retired Justice A. Ramamurthi for his dedicated 19 years of service in managing the Kanniyakumari-based Akila Thiruvidancore Siddha Vaidhya Sangam (ATSVS), an organization overseeing a Siddha medical college and hospital.
Counsel for the interim administrator voiced concerns about potential mismanagement amidst ongoing disputes regarding the ATSVS’s presidency. However, the judges clarified that any objections to the election of L. Noelraj, which took place at the general body meeting on May 10, 2025, must be raised through appropriate legal channels by the aggrieved parties.
The court also dismissed arguments suggesting that the ATSVS Siddha Medical College and Hospital’s ‘best institution award,’ received during the retired judge’s tenure, warranted his continued interim administration. The bench firmly rejected this plea.
The Division Bench unequivocally stated that ‘courts are not expected to run the administration of private institutions.’ Their role, the judges emphasized, is to ‘resolve disputes and ensure lawful governance,’ not to ‘perpetually manage the affairs of registered societies or associations.’
The judges further clarified that interim administrators are appointed strictly to address management turmoil and facilitate a swift return to democratic functioning. They underscored that administrative authority ultimately rests with duly elected bodies, not with officers appointed by the court.
Justice Subramaniam, writing the verdict, highlighted that the extended presence of an interim administrator infringes upon the fundamental rights of an association’s members, including their right to vote, elect office-bearers, participate in management, and hold leadership accountable through regular elections.
Such lengthy administrative tenures, stretching ‘sometimes even for decades,’ fundamentally ‘offend the very spirit of democracy,’ the judge concluded. These crucial observations were made during the hearing of a petition filed by Mr. Noelraj, who sought the court’s intervention to establish a proper administrative framework for ATSVS.
Mr. Noelraj informed the Division Bench that Justice Ramamurthi’s appointment as interim administrator by the High Court dated back to 2006, stemming from a civil suit filed in 2005. This original suit, however, was transferred to the City Civil Court in 2019 and later withdrawn, leaving the interim arrangement in an administrative limbo.
With the ATSVS general body having successfully conducted elections, Mr. Noelraj firmly argued that the society’s administration should now rightfully be entrusted to the newly elected office-bearers.