Plea to fill vacancies in Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram dismissed

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed the petition that sought a direction to the authorities to fill staff vacancies in Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district.

A Division Bench of Justices R. Subramanian and L. Victoria Gowri observed that the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department had filed an affidavit stating that, according to him, the order of status quo granted by the Supreme Court would mean that no Archaka shall be appointed for agamic temples in Tamil Nadu.

“This interpretation, in our considered opinion, does not appear to be just. However, since it is an interpretation of the order of the Supreme court, we do not want to express any opinion on the view taken by the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department,” the court observed.

“Therefore, we dismiss the petition, leaving it open to the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court seeking appropriate clarification,” the court observed. Advocate Elephant G. Rajendran of Chennaihad filed the petition seeking a direction to the authorities to immediately appoint and fill all the vacancies in the temple which attracts thousands ofpilgrims every day. The vacancies amounted to serious deficiency in service, he said.

Published - October 24, 2024 09:41 pm IST