The Madras High Court on Monday held that Rules 7 and 9 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of Service) Rules of 2020, which prescribe eligibility, qualification and age for appointment of temple priests, will not apply to temples that had been constructed and governed as per specific Agama Sastras (treatise on temple rituals).
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala also directed the State government to constitute a five-member committee, chaired by retired High Court judge M. Chockalingam and comprising Madras Sanskrit College executive committee head N. Gopalaswami, to identify temples that had been constructed as per Agama Sastras in the State.
The Bench ordered that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Commissioner should be an ex officio member of the committee and two other members should be nominated by the government, in consultation with the chairman, within a month. After the constitution, the committee should begin identifying the Agamic temples.
