Come up with SOP for conducting weddings inside temples, Madras HC tells HR&CE Department

Madras High Court questions HR&CE Department on SOP for temple weddings, dining arrangements.

The Madras High Court on Thursday, March 14, 2024, wanted to know whether the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department will come up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for performingcunder its control.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy directed counsel for the HR&CE Department to get instructions by April 15 since tying the nuptial knot was a common phenomenon at almost all temples in the State.

The direction was issued at the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by S. Mohanaraman to forbear the trustees of the Balasaarthuleeswarar Temple at Nellore Pet in Gudiyatham from granting permission for conducting weddings or similar ceremonies on the temple premises.

P. Valliappan, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that though the petitioner had no objection to just tying of the nuptial knot before deity, he was aggrieved by the conversion of the temple premises into a dining hall by renting chairs and tables by the families which perform the weddings.

He said such practices were contrary to the customs and were not in consonance with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorisation Act, 1947. The court was also told that the petitioner had made a representation in this regard on July 29, 2022.

Finding force in his submissions, the judges said the HR&CE Department could come up with certain guidelines to be followed with respect to conduct of weddings at all temples under its control. They said the ceremony could be conducted inside the temple but dining should be arranged elsewhere.