'Propensity To Stoke Communal Disharmony': Madras High Court Disallows Lalgudi Temple Car Festival To Pass Through Streets

Madras High Court has observed that the temple car procession/ festival in Achiramavalli Amman Kovil at Jangamarajapuram cannot be allowed this year since it has the potential to stoke communal tension like in 2021.

The court was hearing two separate writ petitions filed in 2021 and 2022 about the conduct of the Temple/ Car Festival in the Trichy District .

In the common order, the single-judge bench of Justice C. Saravanan added that the reports submitted by the Tahsildar and Deputy Inspector of Police indicated that the temple/car festival was not conducted in a peaceful manner in 2021, which saw partial boycott and pelting of stones, injuring public and police.

The court opined that the situation has not seen much improvement when compared to the festival in 2021. The court observed that dissatisfaction among certain communities is still brewing.

"Communal disharmony is the casualty which threatens both loss of life and property", the court remarked while agreeing with the Revenue Divisional Officer's order dated 4th February with reference to the 2022 petition, declining the permission to conduct the Maasi Month Car Festival in Arulmigu Aachiramavalli Amman Temple.

While declining the permission, the RDO had cited the clamping of Section 149 of the CrPC and the number of criminal cases filed against the trouble makers who resorted to stone-pelting and created the law and order situation in 2020 & 2021.

"The Court also cannot turn its eyes blind to allow the Temple / Car festival in the light of the ground reality. The Car Festival certainly cannot be allowed to pass through streets as it has the propensity to stoke communal disharmony as was noticed during 2021", the bench of Justice C. Saravanan said.

The bench also made it clear that no motive can be attributed to the reports submitted by the  Deputy Superintendent of Police or Tahsildar and the Revenue Divisional Officer's subsequent order, and that they have no personal interest in the matter.

It is pertinent to note that the Car Festival has been in abeyance since 1994 and a Division Bench order of Madras High Court in 2020 permitted conducting the festival after decades. The Division Bench Order came from a single bench order in pursuance of a plea made by the petitioner in W.P.(MD)No.3663 of 2022, one Mr. Prabhu Nambiappan who claimed that the Achiramavalli Amman Kovil temple houses his 'family deity'.

With respect to the second writ petition filed in 2022 to quash the RDO's order, the court noted that the temple festival can be conducted within the temple premises without the car festival after proper re-evaluation of the current situation.

"W.P.(MD)No.3663 of 2022 is disposed of by directing...Revenue Divisional Officer to re-examine the feasibility of conduct of the temple festival "within precincts of the temple without taking the temple car through streets in Jengamarajapuram Village, Lalgudi Taluk, Trichy" after getting necessary inputs from the second respondent Tahsildar and third respondent Deputy Superintendent of Police, so that, there is no disturbance in the communal harmony and compromise in the law and order. If so, the first respondent Revenue Divisional Officer shall give such permission by 07.03.2022."

The bench also made it clear that even if the permission is granted by the RDO for the limited conduct of the festival, it must be under the strict supervision of officers of the H.R. & C.E Department and Lalgudi Deputy Superintendent of Police. The court has also directed the DSP to deploy a sufficient number of police personnel to avoid untoward incidents/ communal riots in case the festival is conducted. The court has also directed the officials to ensure that there is no discrimination against any person/ community during the festival if approved by RDO.

On the other hand, the 2021 petition was filed after the single judge bench and Division Bench Order that allowed the festival to be conducted. In 2020, while adjudicating Mr Prabhu Nambiappan's plea,  the single judge bench observed that the temple/ car festival may be conducted periodically since it touches upon the sentiments of the people. After the single bench order, the petitioner in WP(M.D) No.5036 of 2021, D. Balasubramaniam, filed a writ appeal as a third party before the Division Bench.

The Division Bench disposed of the petition by stating that the festival can be conducted in a peaceful manner devoid of any discrimination . The Bench directed that the festival can be celebrated by taking the temple car through any one of the streets suggested by the appellant, D Balasubramaniam, belonging to the Adi Dravidar Community and approved by the Executive Officer of the temple. The executive officer was also given liberty t  take a decision as to whether the Temple Car can be taken through any one of the streets suggested by the appellant, giving a minimum of two hours time for the Temple Car to pass through the street on any day of the festival. 

The Division Bench Order also kept it open for the appellant to approach the HR & CE Department under Section 25 of the Act for seeking relief to take the temple car through any of the streets of the appellant's community (Scheduled Castes Adi Dravidar Community) in the future as well. The court also added that the festival will be conducted in the subsequent years after a decision is taken by the HR & CE Department.

"...The authorities shall take a decision keeping in mind that untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden under Article 17 of Constitution of India", the Division Bench noted while disposing of D. Balasubramiam's writ appeal in 2020.

D. Balasubramaniam filed the current writ petition WP (M.D) No. 5036/ 2021 challenging the order of the temple trustee dated 26th February, 2021. The trustee passed an order for conducting the festival in 2021 in line with 2020 by stating that there has been no discrimination against the people belonging to the Adi Dravidar Community and that they were allowed to participate in the 2020 temple festival too. However, the Trustee refused to entertain the request of the Scheduled Castes Adi Dravidar Community to bring the temple car through their streets too instead of the regular path.

Moreover, the application before the HR & CE Joint Commissioner under Section 25, pursuant to the Division Bench Order is still pending disposal, D. Balasubramanium submitted. About the proceedings before the Commissioner, the petitioner submitted that a notice dated 4th February, 2021 was issued demanding the appearance of all the parties involved for conducting an enquiry.  After enquiry, the joint commissioner opined that the plea for taking temple car through the streets can be decided only by the temple management after considering the suggestions and objections from the public after issuing a general notice.

After issuing a general notice, the executive officer of the temple concluded on 23rd February, 2021 that the temple festival cannot be held due to the law and order situation.

It was after this order that the trustee, on 26th February, decided to pass an order for conducting the festival by stating there has been no discrimination between the communities including Adi Dravidars, while declining the Adi Dravidars' request to allow passing the temple car through their streets as well by citing the discretion of temple management.

This order that was contrary to the executive officer's conclusion was challenged by D. Balasubramanian in the current petition.

After perusing through the submissions and records, the court observed that:

"Worshiping of a family deity is a personal affair of each family. It cannot ordinarily involve the community at large. Therefore, a large scale festival by excluding a section of the society or conferring a special privileges to a section of the family from a community cannot be sanctioned for a temple which is governed by the provisions of H.R. & C.E. Act", Justice C. Saravanan observed about Prabhu Nambiappan's claim about the temple housing a family diety.

On the merits of the case filed by D. Balasubramanianin WP (M.D) 5036/ 2021, the court observed that the Temple Festival cannot be allowed and Temple Car also cannot be permitted to pass through various streets around the temple. Therefore, the court allowed the petition and quashed the temple trustee's February 2021 order taking stoke of potential communal disharmony. 

"If required, the authorities under the H.R. & C.E. Act may decide to appoint a fit person to manage the affairs of the said temple as the fourth respondent in W.P.(MD) No.5036 of 2021 has allowed the situation to deteriorate in 2021 despite warning of the third respondent Executive Officer of the Temple", the court expressed its displeasure about the the act of temple trustee.

In D. Balasubramanian's petition, the court also directed the Joint Commissioner (HR & CE Department) to pass a final order within sixty days in the application filed by him pursuant to the Division Bench Order in 2020.

Case Title:  D.Balasubramanian v. The Commissioner, HR & CE Department & Ors and Prabhu Nambiappan v. Revenue Divisional Officer, Lalgudi Taluk & Ors.

Case No: W.P. (MD) Nos.5036 of 2021 & 3663 of 2022 and W.M.P. (MD) Nos.4055 of 2021 & 3371 of 2022

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 88

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