The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a constitutional court cannot intervene in the day-to-day operations of a temple.
“Can we tamper with a temple’s rituals? How to crack a coconut or perform aarti “According to a court led by Chief Justice NV Ramana, the PIL filed by devotee Srivari Daadaa qualifies as a PIL.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a plea appealing an Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling dismissing a PIL filed by a devotee citing “wrongful and irregular procedure” in the case, performing “Puja” of Lord Venkateshwara Swamy at Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam, stating that a constitutional court cannot intervene in the day-to-day operations of a temple.
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However, the bench, which also included Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli, instructed the Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam administration to answer in writing to the devotee’s plea on several problems related to devotees’ darshan and adoration at the old temple throughout eight weeks after Tuesday (November 16). If a ritual or ‘seva’ is not done following established procedures, the Trial Court must consider the evidence,” the bench stated in its order. It gave the devotee the right to file a case in a trial court to air his objections about the rites or way of doing the ‘puja.’
Previously, on September 29, the Supreme Court instructed the ‘Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam’ to answer a petition filed by a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara Swamy alleging “wrongful and irregular practice” in performing ‘puja’ there.
The bench was hearing an appeal from a devotee against an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court that declined to hear the PIL, citing that the method for performing rituals is the sole realm of the Devasthanam and cannot be adjudicated unless it impacts the secular or civil rights of others.
Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam is an autonomous organization that oversees temples in Andhra Pradesh, including the famed Lord Venkateshwara Swamy.
Daadaa has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court’s January 5 ruling rejecting his PIL. The temple administrators, according to the petition, have been performing three sevas: 1) Abhishekam Seva, 2) Thomala Seva, and 3) Arjitha Brahmostavam 4) Yekanta Utsavalu (Srivari Varshika Brahmotsavams – 2020) and 5) Maha Laghu Darshan illegally and irregularly. The PIL had asked for a directive to ‘Devasthanam’ to change the way the ceremonies were performed.
It said that such acts happening within an ecclesiastical realm are not subject to writ jurisdiction at the request of an outsider. As a result, the Court felt that the Writ Petition lacks merit and hence was denied.
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