3 months ago
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The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed a G.O. issued by the State providing for the expenditures successful respect of civilian works, operation and allied enactment successful Kallazhagar temple successful Alagarkoil successful Madurai.
A Division Bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C. Kumarappan observed that the raison d’etre oregon intent of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department was chiefly to sphere and support the temples, meaning, that the pristine and beatified premises of a temple indispensable beryllium tended to, repaired oregon restored erstwhile required and maintained specified that the sanctity is not diluted.
“The section has envisioned the temple arsenic a ‘project’ requiring improvement and upgradation. The concepts, successful our view, are alien to a temple. We are not averse to the proviso of facilities that are needed by devotees and visitors to a temple and suggestions for specified infrastructural facilities whitethorn travel from immoderate source, including the authorities”.
“However, it is lone the Board of Trustees that whitethorn see specified suggestions, instrumentality decisions and spearhead the provisions of the same. While immoderate idiosyncratic whitethorn beryllium proactive and instrumentality an involvement successful temple medication and management, lone the trustees whitethorn decisively instrumentality enactment with respect to this. The G.O. issued successful 2024 and the proceedings represent usurpation of the relation of the temple absorption by the State,” the tribunal said.
Though the tenure of the Board had expired astatine the extremity of October 2025, determination was thing to amusement that proceedings had been initiated nether Section 46 of the Act to represent the caller Board. We cannot fathom wherefore determination should beryllium a clip spread betwixt the tenure of 1 Board to another, the tribunal said.
The tribunal directed contiguous measures beryllium taken for constitution of a caller Board of Trustees successful enactment with the tribunal directions and indispensable amendments beryllium made to bring the absorption of Kallazhagar temple successful enactment with the Act and the Rules.
While we bash not mean that the temple premises should basal frozen successful clip with nary infrastructure provided for the information and comfortableness of devotees and visitors, we are precise wide that immoderate is done successful the sanction of improvement should align with the ethos of a temple, the tribunal observed.
The tribunal issued a slew of directions for the due attraction of the temple premises, including the restoration of the Vasantha Mandapam arsenic expeditiously arsenic possible.
