MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday stayed a recent communication issued by the commissioner of HR and CE department, which included several instructions for regulating temple dharshan queues and activities of Thirisuthanthirars (freelance archagas), among others.
A division bench of Justices Paresh Upadhyay and R Vijayakumar passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Thiruchendur Shri Jeyanthi Nathar Thirisuthanthirars Kaariyasthar Sthaanigar Sabha, represented by its secretary A Narayanan.
According to the association, the commissioner on April 1 issued a series of instructions regulating the dharshan queues, puja rituals, annadhanam, tonsuring, and temple elephant maintenance among others. It also ordered Thirisuthanthirars to register themselves with the temple administration. They were also ordered not to bring devotees personally into the temple, collect money from devotees or sell threads (worn on wrist) and 'vibhoothi' (holy ash) on the temple premises.
Aggrieved by the communication, the association filed the PIL and claimed, "The commissioner, by issuing the instructions, has committed the very same mistake that was recently pointed out by the division bench while staying a single judge's order in a service case."
Though the government counsels contended that the commissioner had issued the communication based on the directions given by a division bench of the court in 2018, the association alleged that the instructions had been issued unmindful of the history of the compromise between Thirisuthanthirars and the Subramaniya Swamy temple authorities.
The division bench ordered an interim stay on the implementation of the communication and adjourned the case hearing to April 18 for the State government's reply.