Court pulls up administration over temple law
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court expressed strong displeasure that the Collector, Tahsildar and police officials showed “no clarity” about Tamil Nadu’s temple and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) law. The court directed that a Murugan idol removed by government officials from Konapatti hill in Dindigul district be reinstalled.
The case arose from a petition filed by Senthilkumar of Konapatti, who said a Murugan idol was present at the Jothi Murugan shrine on the hill. He alleged that on January 20, revenue and police officials removed the idol without prior notice, and that it remains in the custody of the authorities.
The government contended that the idol had been installed without permission and cited possible law-and-order concerns. The court noted that the hill is recorded as government poramboke land, and that a ‘vel’ (spear) has long been installed there and is worshipped by villagers—facts reflected in revenue records. Since the State itself accepted that worship of the ‘vel’ was not obstructed, the court said this was sufficient to show the presence of a shrine.
Observing that the ‘vel’ is widely known as Murugan’s symbol, the court held that installing a Murugan idol alongside the existing ‘vel’ was not improper and fell within constitutionally protected religious freedom. It rejected the administration’s argument that permission could not be granted due to a rough approach path and lack of safety, calling the reasoning unacceptable, and said there was no material to show villagers opposed the installation.
The judge also held that merely conducting worship or festivals would not, by itself, create a law-and-order problem, and that the petitioner, as a devotee, had the right to seek relief. The court further found the State’s objections about HR&CE registration and the petitioner not being a trustee to be inconsistent with the HR&CE framework, and remarked that the officials’ stand revealed a lack of understanding of the law.
