The Madras High Court has embarked on an exercise to ascertain whether Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department can be allowed to appoint Archakas (priests) to temples until a committee constituted by the court completes the exercise of identifying Agamic and non Agamic temples in the State.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh has directed Special Government Pleader (HR&CE) N.R.R. Arun Natarajan to produce, by June 19, a copy of the certificates issued by the chief priests certifying that a candidate to the post of Archaka/Sthanigar in a particular temple had been trained in the Agamic practices followed in the temple concerned.
The judge called for a copy of the certificate since the SGP contended that those certificates, issued by the chief priests, would take care of the requirement that only candidates who had been trained in particular Agamic practices get appointed to temples that follow these corresponding practices.
