While Justice Babu noted that the caretaker had no authority to issue such notice for the opening, he also said that a temple meant for the public to worship their God should not remain shut due to personal disputes.
“In the light of the fact that the worshipping of a god is a right of every individual according to his personal faith, it would be appropriate to direct the first respondent (Department) herein to conduct an enquiry into the affairs of the temple under the provisions of the HR & CE Act [The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act], and decide the rights of the parties in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible,” the Court said in its order.
The Court also noted that though the petitioner claimed that the temple belonged to a particular community, no steps were taken to declare the temple as a private temple to substantiate his claim.
Thus, in the interest of justice, the Court directed the Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to conduct an enquiry as expeditiously as possible, within six months of the date of receipt of the order.
Source: Barandbench
