MADURAI: Directing the authorities to include the names of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple trustee panel in the inscription to be installed at the temple after the Kumbabhishekam scheduled for September 17, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court said it was unacceptable to allow politics to mar the sanctity of the place.
“Temple is a place where people come seeking peace. Doing politics there by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department is unacceptable,” observed Justice C Saravanan.
The court also observed that the omission of the temple trustee panel’s names from the Meenakshi Amman Temple Kumbabhishekam invitation was wrong while disposing of the petition challenging the omission.
During the final arguments in the case, the Additional Advocate General informed the court that the temple Executive Officer had removed the names of the trustees, apparently taking the decision on his own, while Joint Commissioner Chelladurai had included his own name in the invitation. The HR&CE Department Secretary and Commissioner had no role in the matter, he argued.
It is unfortunate that the HR&CE Department had engaged in politics at such a place. Such political activity in places of religious worship was not acceptableJustice C Saravanan
He further stated that 3,000 invitations had already been printed and distributed, and that it would not be possible to print and distribute them again even if the court passed an order.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, advocate Aranmanai argued that the action of the department was condemnable. He submitted that the names of the Board of Trustees had been included in the invitations for all previous temple Kumbabhishekam ceremonies and sought a direction to follow the same practice.
The judge then observed that a temple is a place where people come seeking peace. “It is unfortunate that the HR&CE Department had engaged in politics at such a place. Such political activity in places of religious worship was not acceptable,” the court said.
The judge also directed the government to ensure that no politics took place in places of religious worship in future and that such places functioned in accordance with the rules.
Subbulakshmi, a member of the temple’s Board of Trustees, had approached the court challenging the omission of the trustees’ names from the Kumbabhishekam invitation and seeking protection for the Board’s statutory duties.