KOCHI: Justifying the norms that only Malayala Brahmins are entitled to apply for the posts of melsanthi (chief priest) at Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples, the amicus curiae appointed by the Kerala High Court submitted that the current system of selection has already been approved by the Supreme Court.
When the petitions filed by priests from non-Brahmin communities challenging the practice came up for hearing on Saturday, Advocate K B Pradeep, the amicus curiae, submitted that any tinkering with the selection proceedings can be done only by the apex court.
“Who is a Malayala Brahmin is not defined anywhere. There is no authentic document in this regard. So, that should be decided first. But that exercise cannot be done in proceedings under Article 226 by the HC in writ jurisdiction, and that has to be left to the civil court,” said the amicus curiae.
The petitioners, meanwhile, pointed out that Malayala Brahmin is not a denomination. Sabarimala is not a denominational temple and the eligibility criterion that melsanthis should be Malayala Brahmin is therefore not an ‘essential religious practice’ protected under Article 25(b) of the Constitution, they stated.
The amicus curiae submitted before the court that the Sabarimala temple is different from the rest of the 1,250 temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board. Therefore, the mode of recruitment of melsanthis to the 1,250 temples cannot be adopted in Sabarimala. In other temples, after recruitment, melsanthis become permanent employees of the devaswom board. Melsanthis in Sabarimala is a contractual appointment, which gets terminated within a year of appointment. Melsanthis are not paid any salary, instead they are paid honorarium of Rs 25,000 per month, the amicus curiae stated.
‘Decision only after hearing thantri’
The amicus curiae said that a decision on the writ petition can be taken only after hearing the Sabarimala thantri as well. The mandate that Malayali Brahmins alone should officiate as the melsanthi is intrinsically connected with the customs and rituals of the temple.
In Sabarimala, after being selected, melsanthi is ritualistically officiated into the post by the thantri, who advises the ‘Moolamanthra’ and ‘Dhyana’ to him inside the sanctum sanctorum. So, the thantri has a crucial role, and in this matter, the thantri has to be heard, especially for the reason that he is regarded as the ‘father of the deity’.
The exclusive reservation of the melsanthi post in favour of Malayala Brahmins is done by the devaswom board mainly for the reason that the board is statutorily bound to run the affairs of the temple without breaking the customs and practice under section 15 of the TCHRI Act. The customs have been prevailing since the TCHRI Act came into effect, and the board is bound to follow them, the amicus curiae stated.
‘Over 60 yrs’ practice’
The amicus curiae submitted that the system of appointing only Malayala Brahmins has been in force for at least 60 years. “The petitioners were unable to show that there was a different system where non-Malayali Brahmins were appointed at any point of time,” said the amicus curiae.