Expressing anguish over the court being flooded with cases related to the closure of temples due to ego clash between different groups over worshipping the deity and receiving the first rights during festivals, the Madras High Court has said it is a paradox that closure of temples actually leads to peace.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh wrote: “A temple is a place which is reached out by God believers in search of peace. It is believed to be a structure designed to bring human beings and Gods together through worship, sacrifice and devotion. Unfortunately, in many cases, the temple itself becomes a cause for law and order problem.”
The judge also said: “As a result, the whole purpose of a temple is lost. This court is flooded with writ petitions of this nature and the police and revenue authorities are made to spend their time in resolving dispute between the parties. A temple must create an environment to subside the ego of a person. On the contrary it is becoming a breeding ground for clash of ego.”
Stating that God gets pushed to the back seat in the clash between the mortals, Justice Venkatesh wrote: “In such cases, the best course of action will be to close down such temples so that peace and normalcy is restored in the locality. It is a paradox that closure of a temple actually leads to peace.”
The observations were made while dealing with a 2015 writ petition related to Sri Madurai Veeran, Karupparayan and Kannimar temple at Kullur in Modakurichi Taluk of Erode district. When he wanted to know the current status of the temple, the Tahsildar said, efforts were taken to conduct temple festival between June 9 and 11.
However, clashes erupted between two groups again and hence the temple was closed on June 11 and it was decided to reopen it only after normalcy returns. In order to find a solution to the problem, the judge directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department to appoint a Fit Person to administer the temple.
Observing that such appointment would sufficiently take care of the ego clash and no one would feel superior than the other when the temple falls under the control of a Fit Person, the judge directed the Superintendent of Police to take charge and initiate appropriate action if anyone tries to disturb peace and law and order.
