Madras: sThe Madras High Court Saturday held a special sitting to hear a petition filed against the Tamil Nadu government and the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) alleging that the State authorities were attempting to scuttle prescribed ritual at the Palani Dhandayuthapaniswamy temple in Tamil Nadu.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy disposed of the petition after the parties reached a consensus and the HR&CE department assured the Court that the prescribed rituals, particularly a 48-day long ritual of smearing sandalwood and other holy paste on the forehead of the temple deity’s idol, will go on as it does every year.
The petitioner, advocate TR Ramesh, moved the High Court seeking an urgent hearing claiming that the State authorities were planning to restrict the ‘mandalaabhishekam’ ritual or the ritual of sandalwood smearing, to just three days.
Ramesh argued that such “truncated” abhishekam’ went against the agamas or the prescribed rituals of the temple.
The TN government and the HR&CE department, however, told the court that the State had no intention of going against the agamas. They had only opposed the scale of the ritual given the heavy footfall the temple receives ahead of the Palani Festival that is scheduled for February 5.
The Department, through Special Government Pleader Arun Natarajan, submitted that the mandalaabhishekam ritual will happen everyday for the scheduled 48 days.
The High Court in its order recorded the Department’s submissions that a consensus has been arrived at in the present matter.
Senior Counsel Valliappan appeared for the petitioner advocate TR Ramesh.
Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram appeared for the TN government.
Special Government Pleader Arun Natarajan appeared for the HR&CE.
