CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the withdrawal of the Annai Tamil Archanai scheme introduced by the State government recently.
The scheme promotes chanting of mantras in Tamil instead of in Sanskrit while performing poojas in the temples managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu refused to entertain the PIL filed by one Rangarajan Narasimhan since the issue was not an unsettled question of law any more.
The judges said a Division Bench had, in March 2008, dismissed a batch of cases filed in 1998 and held that the Agama Sastras don’t prohibit chanting of mantras in Tamil. Referring to the judgment that held the choice of recitation of mantras in Tamil or Sanskrit is vested with devotees, the Bench headed by the Chief Justice said:
“Nothing that the petitioner cites would permit the court to take a contrary view on an issue that has already been decided.” Narasimhan had stated that the HR&CE department’s attempt to translate verses and hymns from Sanskrit to Tamil was nothing but blasphemy.
Purpose of chanting mantras destroyed: Plea
In his PIL, the petitioner said that it has been an age-old practice to chant mantras in Sanskrit. Hence, the very purpose of chanting mantras will be destroyed if it is not in Sanskrit. The petitioner also claimed that mantras from Sanskrit had not been translated properly into Tamil.