Madras High Court relieves retired judge serving as interim administrator of a Siddha medical college for 19 years

Shocked to find that a retired judge of the Madras High Court had continued as the interim administrator of a registered society for 19 long years, the Madras High Court relieved him of the post and requested him to hand over the administration to the elected president.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq said that the continuance of the interim administrator for over 19 years “shocks the conscience of the court.” It ordered that the administration be transferred to the elected president within two weeks.

The Bench also placed on record its appreciation for the 19 years of service rendered by retired judge A. Ramamurthi in administering the Kanniyakumari-based Akila Thiruvidancore Siddha Vaidhya Sangam (ATSVS), which runs a Siddha medical college and hospital.

Though the counsel for the interim administrator feared the possibility of maladminstration as there were rival claims over the presidentship of ATSVS, the judges said it was for the aggrieved parties concerned to challenge the election of L. Noelraj at the general body meet held on May 10, 2025.

The judges also refused to accept the counsel’s other submission that the ATSVS Siddha Medical College and Hospital had received the ‘best institution award’ under the administration of the retired judge and hence, he may be allowed to continue as its interim administrator.

“Primarily, courts are not expected to run the administration of private institutions. Their jurisdiction extends only to resolve the disputes and ensure lawful governance, not to perpetually manage the affairs of the registered societies or associations,” the Division Bench wrote.

Clarifying that courts appoint interim administrators only to address any turmoil in the management and to restore democratic functioning of the association at the earliest, the judges said that the power to administer an institution must ultimately vest with duly elected bodies and not with court-appointed officers.

Authoring the verdict, Justice Subramaniam also said the prolonged continuation of an interim administrator deprives the members of an association of their right to vote and elect office-bearers, the right to participate in the management, and the right to hold the management accountable through elections.

“The long continuance of administrators, sometimes even for decades, offend the very spirit of democracy,” the judge said. The observations were made while allowing a case filed by Mr. Noelraj urging the court to frame a scheme for the administration of ATSVS.

He brought to the notice of the Division Bench that the High Court had appointed Mr. Ramamurthi as interim administrator in 2006. The appointment was made following a civil suit filed in 2005. However, that suit was transferred to the City Civil Court in 2019 and was subsequently withdrawn.

Now that the general body of ATSVS had conducted elections, the administration of the society must be handed over to the elected office-bearers, he insisted.