MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the Tiruchendur Arulmighu Subramania Swami Temple to maintain the status quo by not permitting anyone to stay within the premises of the temple during festivals and any other occasions.
A Bench of justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad further directed the temple to judiciously utilise the Rs 300 crore allocated by the government for various developmental works in the temple and complete the same as soon as possible, besides ensuring that devotees are benefited by such works.
The directions were issued on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by R. Sidhrangathan in 2022 to grant permission to the devotees to stay and observe fasting in the outer Praharam of the Tiruchendur temple during the Kanda Sashti Festival as being done from time immemorial by issuing identity card.
The judge said, “The learned counsel appearing for the Tiruchendur temple submitted that to ensure the safety of the devotees and maintain the sanctity of the temple, the temple will not permit any devotee to stay inside the praharam of for observing fasting and performing other religious activities during the said festival or any other days here, in future.
However, they will make all the arrangements to accommodate the devotees, without any discrimination, by providing temporary shelters with adequate basic amenities.”
He added that Section 23 of the HR&CE Act, provides power to the commissioner to issue administrative instructions/circulars to the joint commissioner/executive officer of the temple to streamline the administration and to maintain orderliness in the temple. While so, it is the duty of the temple administration to maintain decorum and sanctity of the temple, apart from providing safety and security to the devotees who visit the temple.
“The Tiruchendur Arulmighu Subramania Swami Temple is justified in not permitting the devotees to stay inside the utpraharam, in order to maintain safety, security, and hygiene within the premises where people come to worship the deity. This will also maintain peace within the premises, where people can worship without discrimination,” they said.
The third respondent said the ongoing development works of the Tiruchendur Arulmighu Subramania Swami Temple worth about Rs 300 crores, appears to be bona fide, it was observed.
