Madras HC flags maladministration in Chidambaram Lord Shiva temple constitutes Board to cure ills

Chennai, Oct 31 (PTI) The Madras High Court has held that under the management of hereditary priests 'Podhu Dikshitars,' there was maladministration of the ancient Lord Nataraja temple in Chidambaram and constituted a Board of Management to rectify the malady in the administration of the temple.

    The court flagged non-religious, commercial activities thereby converting the temple premises into a "food court" and failure to preserve the properties of the temple as among factors that warrants judicial interference to rectify the evil of maladministration.

    Disposing a batch of writ petitions, a Division Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and E Manoharan said a transparent administration which can eradicate the prevailing maladministration is necessary.

    A larger issue in respect of the ancient temple is prevention of the deterioration in maintenance of the heritage structures inside the temple and preservation of the ancient temple, the court said in its order on Friday evening.

    "That apart, immediate steps are required to retrieve the temple assets. Hence, the way forward to rectify the malady in the administration of the temple, which is revered by all Hindus, is a transparent administration which can eradicate the prevailing maladministration is necessary. Therefore, we constitute a Board of Management consisting of domain experts, who will take over the administration, till the ill is cured," the court said.

    Retired Madras High Court judges, Justices V Bharathidasan and R Suresh Kumar shall be the chairman and co-chairman respectively.

    Retired IAS officer C Rajendran would be the member and Secretary of Podhu Dikshitars, Sri Sabanayagar Temple, Chidambaram and Secretary to the state government, HR and CE Department shall be the ex-officio members.

    In respect of daily rituals and festivals, it is the exclusive prerogative of the Podhu Dikshitars and same to be conducted without violating the established customs and practices.

    Any investments like fixed deposits and other income of the temple so far handled by the Podhu Dikshitars, shall continue to be with them as usual.

    However, the Secretary of the Podhu Dikshitars' has to ensure that a copy of the accounts are regularly submitted to the Board of Management by 5th of every English calendar month.

    Any donations to the temple must be through a single window e-payment made into the account mentioned by the Board of Management.

    The HC outlined that the temple came under the administrative control of the HR and CE Department for a short period. Eventually, the Supreme Court in Dr Subramanian Swamy vs State of Tamil Nadu (2014) held that even in cases of maladministration, the permanent vesting of right to administer by appointing an Executive Officer of the HR and CE Department is impermissible.

    The right of the religious denomination to administer its property can be interfered only on the ground of maladministration and that to only until the evil gets remedied, the apex court had held.

    Against this background, the High Court judges said that after the pronouncement of this judgment by the Supreme Court, the administration went back to the Podhu Dikshitars.

    The HC said: "For more than 12 years, the entire income of the temple is with the Podhu Dikshitars but they are not ready to share the true and full account of the income derived from the temple. Therefore, we have no hesitation to record that the manner in which the ancient structure of the temple has been damaged and ill-maintained under the management of the Podhu Dikshitars is disheartening."

    New structures put up by them indiscriminately makes it sufficiently clear that there is maladministration of the temple property. The extensive damage to the heritage structure, the defiance to render the true and proper accounts, were among the points mentioned by the court in its order as factors that warranted judicial interference.

    Also, in this respect, the court cited the collection of donations in the name of ‘Annadhanam’ and ‘Annapavadai’ by putting up boards mentioning the menu and also permitting the organizers of the events to use the dining hall inside the temple; non-religious/commercial activities thereby converting the temple premises a "food court."

    Further, the failure to preserve the properties of the temple "imminently warrants judicial interference to rectify the evil of maladministration."

    Hence, the Board of Management, in exercise of the mandate given to it shall take charge forthwith and bring back the glory of the temple at the earliest, the court said.

    The Revenue and Public Works Departments shall provide necessary assistance to the Board for implementing the directions issued, the judges ruled.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)