Chennai, July 28 (BPNS)
Madras High Court division bench on Friday refused to stay the verdict of a single bench judge that caste would not have any role in the appointment of Archakas(temple priests) . The single bench had in its June 26 verdict said that any person properly trained to perform pujas and other rituals as per Agama Sastra could be appointed to the post.
Division bench of the Madras High Court comprising of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Adikesavalu asked the Advocate General R. Shanmugasundaram and Special Government pleader Arun Natarajan to take notice on behalf of Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department. The case was adjourned for hearing on September 22.
The judges refused to pass an interim order which was sought by appellant Muthu Subramania Gurukkal of Salem. The court said that such a relief could not be given without the granting an opportunity for the other side to file a reply.
The appellant had in his petition for stay before the division bench said that the single judge N. Anand Venkatesh had totally misconstrued the decisions rendered by the Supreme Court in His Holiness Srimad Perarulala Ethiraja Ramanuja Jeeyar Swami versus state of Tamil Nadu.
He also said that the verdict of the single judge was ,” ex-facie erroneous, unsustainable in law and liable to be reversed. The learned judge erred in traversing beyond the scope of the writ petition and in the process, issuing general directions contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme court in Seshammal’s case (1972).
The appellant claimed that the Karama Agama as well as the other 27 Saiva Agamas clearly prescribe that only persons belonging to the denomination of Adi Saivars /Sivacharayars/ Gurukkals are eligible to become Archakas in the temples governed by 28 Saiva Agamas and that his custom was upheld by the Supreme Court in Seshammal’s case.
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