: The Madras High Court has directed the state Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to examine a grievance on renting out space in the four mandapams in the corners of the tank of Kumbakonam temple and take a decision on the matter.
The First bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sundar gave the direction on a miscallenous petition filed by Elephant Rajendran that came up yesterday.
The petitioner submitted that the four mandapams in four corners of the tank of Kumbakonam temple are intended only for performing pooja and holy rituals.But the epartment had let out the space in the tank for commercial purposes, he said.
Stating that the space should not be rented out to anyone, the petitioner sought a direction to remove those shops from the four Mandapams.
He also claimed that a public convenience building being constructed on the western side of the temple was also allowed by the HR and CE department.
If the construction was allowed, then the department would construct such buildings in all 44 tanks in Kumbakonam.
Disposing of the miscellaneous petition, the bench directed the HR&CE department to examine the grievance and take a decision on the same and intimate it to the petitioner.
In another petition, seeking a direction to appoint a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to go into expenditure of the allocated fund of Rs 120 crore by the Tamil Nadu government for KumbakonamMahamahamfestival, the bench had said though the festival was over, it was not an end and all encroachments have to be removed.
To ensure that the 'daily darshan' at the temple be
managed in a "systematic manner" as is being done in other temples, like at Vaishno Devi shrine, the court suggested having two single person lines with each devotee being permitted unobstructed 'darshan' for a "fraction of a second".
Citing the example of Jhandewalan temple here where devotees who don't want to stand in the line can view the deity from a distance, the court suggested putting in place such an arrangement at Kalkaji temple also by removing some constructions 20 feet from the deity.
Since the darshan by devotees was managed by the police station of Kalkaji, the court has sought the presence of the Station House Officer of that police station on the next date of hearing on February 21.
The court also asked the lawyers from both sides to visit the temple and to suggest measures by which the darshan process can be made smoother.
The priest moved the high court after the lower court allowed his two sisters to sit in the puja.
In his plea filed through advocate B L Wali, the priest has said that since the married sisters belong to different families and gotra they have no rights to perform 'puja sewa', which started yesterday and will end on March 7.
He has said the lower court's February 4 order should be stayed and his sisters be restrained from performing the puja.
Earlier, the priest's lawyer had told the court that from time immemorial only male descendants of the family were entitled to the proceeds of offerings since they performed puja and other rituals in the temple.
It was also argued earlier that in the history of the Kalkaji temple, no woman has ever performed puja.
The two sisters through their counsel Satish Sahai had earlier told the court that they have a right to perform puja and 'sewa' being the legal heirs of their father.
