The Madras High Court on Monday ordered maintenance of status quo as on Saturday with respect to recitation of hymns inside the Devarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram since an order passed on Sunday by the Executive Trustee, permitting the Tenkalai sect alone to recite hymns in praise of Manavala Mamunigal and preventing the Vadakalai from reciting hymns in praise of Vedanta Desikar, had been put to challenge.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam partly heard arguments advanced by Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram as well as senior counsel G. Rajagopalan, representing writ petitioner S. Narayanan of Vadakalai sect, and adjourned the case to Tuesday for further hearing. Till then, he ordered maintenance of status quo as it prevailed before the passing of the Executive Trustee’s order which had been challenged before the court.
In his affidavit, Mr. Narayanan said, there was a great urgency in hearing the writ petition since the Brahmotsavam of the temple was on and the Vadakalai sect alone had been denied its right to recite Desika Prabandam, Ramanuja Dayapathram, Vaazhi Thirunamam and other hymns in praise of its spiritual guru. Though a request was made to the court to hear the writ petition on Sunday itself, such plea was not entertained, he said.
