LI Network
Published on: 24 July 2023 at 11:43 IST
The Madras High Court recently addressed a writ petition concerning police protection for the Arulmigu Sri Rudhra Maha Kaliamman Temple festival in Sirkali Town.
The Court, in its ruling, highlighted that these religious celebrations have unfortunately turned into arenas for certain groups to showcase their power rather than promoting an atmosphere of peace and devotion.
The Court expressed concern over the unnecessary involvement of the police and revenue departments in resolving disputes that arise during these events, diverting their focus and wasting valuable time and energy.
Presided by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, the Bench expressed its viewpoint on the matter, stating, “The time and energy of the Police and Revenue department is unnecessarily wasted in resolving disputes between the groups, who are fighting over their right to conduct the temple festival.
The Police and Revenue have got other important functions to perform and their time is wasted by trying to resolve the dispute between two groups who have no devotion to god and are more interested in showing their strength over the other.
In the considered view of this Court, the precious time of the Revenue and Police cannot be wasted in disputes of this nature.”
Advocate P. Ayyaswam represented the Petitioner, who was the hereditary trustee of the temple and has been organizing the festival annually during the Aadi month. Seeking to avoid any untoward incidents during the event, the Petitioner requested police protection, but the police did not grant the request. Subsequently, the Petitioner filed a writ petition seeking intervention from the Court.
The Court expressed its disappointment in encountering such writ petitions frequently, as temple festivals often lead to clashes between two opposing groups, creating law and order problems.
The Court conveyed, “This Court encounters writ petitions of this nature on a daily basis. Every time a temple festival is conducted, there are two groups, who start fighting with each other and it leads to a law and order problem. Hence, every day, writ petitions of this nature are filed before this Court seeking for police protection.”
However, in this case, the Court decided not to provide police protection for the temple festival. Instead, it urged the parties involved to prioritize peace over their personal egos and conduct the festival peacefully.
The Court also directed the police to intervene promptly in case of any disturbances during the event and to take appropriate actions against all parties involved to prevent any further escalation.
“In the light of the above discussions, there is no question of providing police protection for conducting the temple festival. It is left open to the parties to conduct the festival peacefully without their ego coming to the forefront.
If any law and order problem is created, the respondent police shall immediately interfere and take action against all persons concerned and shall stop the festival from proceeding any further,” the Court asserted.
As a result, the Court disposed of the petition, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an atmosphere of peace and devotion during temple festivals and discouraging any misuse of power for such events.