CHENNAI: The state government shall constitute a committee headed by a retired judge conversant with Hindu religious practices to identify and list temples according to the agama rules they follow, said the Madras high court on Friday.
The list shall serve as a guide for appointment of archakas (priests) from all castes to such temples, the first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala said.
The court passed the order on a PIL moved by Rambhadracharya, a Hindu religious leader from Madhya Pradesh, and others challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s all-caste archaka policy. According to the petitioners, the Tamil Nadu government had in 1982 constituted an expert committee under Justice Maharajan on the process of appointment of priests to temples in the state. The committee conclusively recorded that as per agamas, only those who are born as Adisaiva or Vaikanasa or Pancharata are qualified to become priests of Saivite or Vaishnavite temples, they said. The petitioners said that the 2020 rules brought in by the state to appoint persons from any section as priest will lead to erosion of the agama system. Therefore, they wanted the court to declare the 2020 rule as null and void.
