The plight of a Hindu temple facing demolition in Segambut has attracted the attention of Hindraf, which will file a court application to seek the repeal of the demolition order.

Hindraf founder P Uthayakumar said he appeared before the senior assistant registrar of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday on the fate of the Nagakanni Amman Temple.

“He (the senior assistant registrar) decided that he does not have jurisdiction to grant an interim stay of application on the demolition order.

“He turned down the application and told us to refile it before a judge,” Uthayakumar ( photo ) said.

He said he would refile the same application today, before a judge with a certificate of urgency, asking for a stay on the demolition order that is scheduled to be carried out tomorrow.

The lawyer said the original summon, dated May 28 last year, ordered the caretaker of the temple to vacate the premises.

“But the court did not give any order then for either the temple or houses near it to be demolished,” Uthayakumar said.

However, this original court order was used on June 19 to demolish nearby houses, and again on July 25 to partly demolish the 130-year-old temple.

As the court order was only to give vacant possession, Uthayakumar said those responsible for demolishing the temple had contravened the court order and exceeded their authority.

He said he had thus issued notices to the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz, Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajuddin Mohd Isa, developers New York Empire Sdn Bhd and Triple H Auto Parts Sdn Bhd as well as one Tan Kooi Ming.

Uthayakumar said the notices were given to these parties as they were jointly responsible for demolishing the temple.

“Apart from the mayor, who gave a bare denial and said that he was not involved, the rest did not reply to the letter,” he said.

“Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was part of the team that demolished the temple and the police helped in the demolition exercise,” he said.

'A criminal act'

The Hindraf leader also said that he has asked attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali to institute criminal action against the above-mentioned parties.

“We have not been given a reply, but the AG has received our letter,” he said.

Uthayakumar said the temple caretakers and residents nearby affected by the demolition also want RM3 million in compensation from the developers for demolishing the temple without a court order.

“This plus RM100,000 for the consecration ceremony, RM1 million for general and special damages, RM10 million for aggravated damages and two acres of land to be registered under the temple’s name,” he said.

Citing Article 8 and Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, Uthayakumar said there was no such thing as an 'illegal temple'.

“The temple was there since 130 years ago during the British colonial era. (The previous) landowners knew about the temple, (the ownership) was changed twice or thrice but now the current landowner says it is illegal.

“Since this issue involves Article 11 of the constitution and is also of public interest. We have served a copy of the application to the attorney-general with the view that he should also come into the proceedings.

“This act of demolition is actually a criminal act in contravention of Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling a place of worship, among others,” Uthayakumar noted.