A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to abolish the paid “special darshan” system in temples across Tamil Nadu under its administration.
The petitioner, P. Chokkalingam, president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s North Tamil Nadu unit, said temples collect fees of up to Rs 500 in the name of crowd management and offer quicker access through special queues.
He contended that there is no legal provision permitting temples to collect money for special darshan, and claimed the practice came into force after Dravidian parties assumed power in 1967.
According to the petition, the paid system forces ordinary devotees to wait longer, while those who pay are given priority. However, it said free special darshan may be allowed for categories such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newlyweds, devotees carrying milk pots or kavadi, and others including the Governor, Chief Minister, heads of mutts, jeeyars and donors.
The petitioner argued that preferential access based on money amounts to discrimination and is contrary to the Constitution, and sought an order directing the HR&CE Department to take steps to withdraw the paid special darshan practice.
