Madras HC says authorities obliged to allow Dalits to perform worship in Aadi

The Madras High Court on Tuesday made it clear that authorities had a statutory and moral obligation to permit people belonging to the SC community to offer worship and perform rituals in connection with the Aadi festival at a temple in a village in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district.

Justice M Sathyanarayanan, who passed the order on a writ petition by one M Shanmugavelu and two others of Kallimedu village, in his order, said, "The petitioners will be alive to the said situation and work out some compromise so that at least in the next year during the Tamil month Aadi, the temple festival is performed without any problem or hitch."

The three sought a direction to quash an order dated July 30 of the Nagapattinam District Collector, cancelling the festival at the temple due to a dispute over performing rituals.

They also sought a direction to the Collector and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Joint Commissioner to conduct the festival as per Agama principles.

The judge said under the Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorisation Act, 1947 "read with the rules framed there under, the HR&CE and the executive officer of Sri Badrakaliamman temple in Kallimedu village in Nagapattinam district are under statutory as well as moral obligation to permit the people belonging to SC community to have a right of worship and perform rituals in connection with the Aadi festival."