MADURAI: Recognising River Thamirabarani as a juristic person with a right not to be polluted, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently banned dumping of clothes and other articles into the river. The court, however, permitted immersion of ashes of the dead in the river, on condition that the ashes should be carried and immersed only in unfired earthen pots, which easily dissolve in the water.
A special bench comprising justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi passed the order on a petition filed by S Sivanupandian, against eviction proceedings initiated by the authorities to vacate him from a 400-year-old stone mandapam situated on a bathing ghat on the river bank in Ambasamduram taluk, Tirunelveli.
During an earlier hearing, the assistant executive engineer (WRO) of the Upper Thamirabarani sub-division told the court that thousands of devotees flock to the bathing ghats of Thamirabarani river from Papanasam onwards to perform obsequies, which involved ritualistic discarding of used and unused garments, towels, clothes, slippers and other articles associated with the deceased.
The judges took judicial notice of the fact that the river is considered sacred by crores of Hindus. However, they clarified that by treating the river as a person, the rights of the other religionists are not prejudiced in any manner. “Conferment of juristic personality in this case is only for a limited purpose, i.e., right not to be polluted,” they remarked and banned dumping of clothes and other articles in the river.
The judges further directed the district administration to ensure that the ban is not violated. The local body was also instructed to pass resolutions for levying fines against violators. Further directions were issued to the officials of Papanasaswamy temple to take control of the mandapam from the petitioner and join hands with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to restore the mandapam to its original position.