MADURAI: Disapproving of two villagers in Virudhunagar fighting endlessly over conducting a temple festival, the first bench of the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) sarcastically remarked that if temples are locked the Gods could rest in peace without His followers fighting over the manner of worshipping God.
Authoring the judgment, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, while disposing a writ appeal filed by one P Seeni Naicker, pointing to the adage that ‘Religion is opium of the masses’, said that the masses do not stop fighting even for worshipping of God.
In the instant case, the appellant said that in 1945 a temple was constructed in Mallikinaru in Virudhunagar. The people of Krishnapuram and Kovilpatti worshipped the deity.
In the meantime, a dispute arose over the Mahimai (worship tax) and it was resolved in 1974. Then in 2010, the dispute arose again, the common temple was destroyed and a new temple was built without the contribution of the villagers.