MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the HR&CE department and the Thoothukudi collector on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by an advocate against increasing the darshan rates at the Subramaniya Swamy temple in Tiruchendur.
According to the petition filed by B Ramkumar Adityan, the temple collected Rs 100 for Vishwaroopa darshan entry, Rs 500 for Abhisheka darshan entry and Rs 100 for special darshan entry (Viraivu darshan) per person, on normal days.
However, citing an order passed by the HR&CE commissioner in 2018, the temple management collected Rs 2,000 for Vishwaroopa darshan, Rs 3,000 for Abhisheka darshan and Rs 1,000 for special darshan per person during the 2023 Kanda Sashti festival, he added.
Stating that a similar hike might be made during the upcoming festival, celebrated between November 2 and 11, he requested the court to quash the 2018 order and issue Aadhaar-based time-slot tokens for darshan during the Kanda Sashti festival at the temple.
A bench of Justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri heard the matter, issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case for two weeks.