The Madras High Court has ordered the conduct of daily pujas at the Dharmaraja Droupadi Amman temple in Melpathi village in Villupuram district on the condition that no one but the priest would be allowed to enter the temple that has remained shut since last year due to disputes along caste lines.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh passed the interim order on two writ petitions filed by local residents G. Gandhi and Raji in 2023, challenging the Revenue Divisional Officer’s (RDO) June 7, 2023 decision to close the temple due to a clash between Vanniyars and Dalits over the latter’s entry into the temple.
Though senior counsel G. Karthikeyan, representing one of the writ petitioners, stated that the temple could not be abandoned without even conducting daily puja, Advocate General P.S. Raman feared that a law and order situation may arise due to the volatile situation prevailing in the area.
The Villupuram Collector as well as the Superintendent of Police too, appeared through video conference before the court, and said, it might not be advisable to open the temple especially during the Lok Sabha polls since most of the State machinery, including the police, would be busy with election work.
However, the A-G as well as State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah told the court that the daily puja alone could be permitted at the temple and that necessary police protection would be provided at the venue, where none but the priest could be allowed to enter the temple.
Accepting the suggestion and considering the sentiments of the devotees, the judge directed the Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department in Villupuram district to engage the services of a priest to perform the daily puja.
Making it clear that no devotee should enter the temple and that any untoward incident could be brought to the notice of the court immediately, the judge adjourned the two writ petitions for further hearing to June 10 after it was reported that the Lok Sabha polls would get over on June 4.
