The Madras High Court ruled on Tuesday that the entry of non-Hindus beyond the ‘Kodimaram’ (flagpole) area within respective shrines is prohibited. The court directed the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department to install boards in all Hindu temples, citing Article 15 of the constitution. The judgment noted that according to Article 15, temples are not covered, thereby asserting that restrictions on the entry of non-Hindus cannot be deemed improper.

The judgment was delivered by Justice S Srimathy of the Madurai bench on a plea from D Senthilkumar. He sought directives for permitting only Hindus to the Arulmigu Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple and its sub-temples, along with the installation of display boards at all entrances. The renowned Lord Murugan temple is situated in Palani in the Dindigul district.

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The respondents in this case were the Tamil Nadu government, represented by the Principal Secretary of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Religious Endowments, the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE), and the Executive Officer of the Palani temple.

The HR&CE department is responsible for overseeing Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu.

Upon accepting the petition, the court instructed the respondents to install boards at the entrance of the temples, near the flagpole, and at prominent locations within the shrine. These boards are to indicate that “non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple after the Kodimaram.”

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“The respondents are directed not to allow the non-Hindus who do not believe in Hindu religion. If any Non-Hindu claims to visit a particular deity in the temple, then the respondents shall obtain an undertaking from the said non-Hindu that he has faith in the deity and he would follow the customs and practices of the Hindu religion and also abide by the temple customs and on such undertaking, the said non-Hindu may be allowed to visit the temple,” the court ruled, PTI reported.

Furthermore, the court directed that every instance of allowing a non-Hindu into the temple, based on the provided undertaking, should be recorded in a register to be maintained by the temple. In response to the respondents’ request, who stated that the writ petition pertained only to the Palani temple, the court restricted the order to apply solely to that specific temple.

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In the verdict, Justice S Srimathy stated that the temple is not a picnic spot or tourist destination. Even in the Arulmigu Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur, individuals of other religions are allowed to admire and appreciate the architectural monuments of the temple, but not beyond the Kodimaram.

The High Court also referred to certain incidents of non-Hindus allegedly entering temples. “It was also reported that in Arulmigu Brihadeeswarar Temple a group of persons belonging to other religions had treated the temple premises as a picnic spot and had non-vegetarian food inside the temple premises. Likewise, recently on January 11, a newspaper reported that a group of persons belonging to another religion had entered the Arulmighu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai with “their sacred book” near the sanctum sanctorum and were attempting to do their prayers there.”

These incidents are deemed to be interfering with the fundamental rights guaranteed to Hindus under the Constitution, the judge stated. “The Hindus also have the fundamental right to profess and practice their religion freely and propagate their religion without interfering in their way of practice. Therefore, the Hindus have the right to maintain their temples as per their customs, practices and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department has the duty to protect the temples from such unwanted incidents.” the court added.