Chidambaram Temple Row: Plea In Madras High Court Challenges Government Order Allowing Devotees To Climb Kanakasabhai Mandapam

The plea has been filed by TR Ramesh, President of Temple Worshippers Society and Indic Collective Trust. In his plea, Ramesh claims that the worship of the deity and the administration of the temple has been performed by a Tamil-speaking Vedic Saivite community known as “Chidambaram Dikshitars” for almost two thousand years. While so, he submitted that the Principal Secretary, Tourism, Culture, and Religious Endowment Department, State of Tamil Nadu issued a Government Order dated May 17th, 2022, granting general permission to devotees coming to the Chidambaram Temple to climb atop the pooja area and have darshan.

Ramesh submitted that though the impugned G.O is said to have been passed after consultation with the District Collector and as per the recommendations of the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department, it does not mention consultation with the Secretary to Podhu Dikshitars. Ramesh added that the authorities have also failed to mention the powers available to them to pass such orders.

“I respectfully submit that the 1^st Respondent has failed to mention as to the powers, if any, available to him to pass any orders concerning a denominational institution, especially when Sections 105(a) and 107 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act 1959 preclude every authority from passing any orders in violation of the established usage of an institution and in violation of the rights of a religious denomination guaranteed under Article 26 of the Indian Constitution”, the plea reads.

Ramesh added that the impugned GO has directly interfered with the functioning of rituals in the Kanaka Sabhai, a raised platform right below the sanctum sanctorium of the temple. He further submitted that earlier devotees who wanted to carry out special archana were admitted to the Kanaka Sabhai during certain limited times but even this was stopped following the advent of the pandemic.

He further submitted that certain non-believers and motivated groups, encouraged by political outfits started creating issues following which the Secretary of Podhu Dikshitarts took the decision to not permit any persons to do Darshan from the Kanaka Sabhai which led to the passing of the impugned GO.

The plea further states that it is impractical to accommodate devotees in the Kanaka Sabhai, which has limited space to accommodate only 7 to 10 devotees and such preferential treatment may affect the peace and serine atmosphere of the temple which in turn may lead to public criticism and allegations.

It also says that the impugned GO is passed without authority as the Principal Secretary does not find any mention in the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act and that it violates Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

Thus, the plea seeks for declaring the impugned GO as ultra vires, illegal, arbitrary, and without jurisdiction and also seeks a stay of its operation pending disposal.