TNPSC Thervupettagam

Verdict on Uthapuram temple

August 12 , 2024 5 hrs 0 min 32 0
  • The Madras High Court ordered to open the Sri Muthalamman; Sri Mariamman temple situated in Uthapuram village in Peraiyur taluk in Madurai district.
  • It had remained closed for 10 years due to the community clash.
  • The court also held that, the idol housed in a temple is to be treated as a living person and the closure of the temple without customary pujas will amount to its imprisonment.
  • An idol is considered as a juristic personality in law.
  • This is understood as enabling the idol to hold property and to sue and be sued in its name.
  • No temple can be locked and sealed on the grounds of law and order.
  • Any temple is an abode of deity.
  • The question is whether a temple can be closed by citing public order.
  • So long as there is no practice of untouchability or offending the rights of others, a temple cannot be closed or shut down indefinitely.
  • This is as much the right of a devotee to offer worship as well as the right of the deity to observance of the customary rituals.
  • The court has to exercise parens patriae jurisdiction when the interest of minors, the mentally ill and idols are at stake.
  • The fundamental right of the petitioner guaranteed under the Constitution to visit the temple and take part in the worship of the deity shall not be taken away for any reason.

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