MADURAI, INDIA, October 4, 2011 (The Hindu): A Hindu temple cannot be compelled to engage the services of a security agency owned by non-Hindus, the Madras High Court has ruled. Ultimately, reforms in matters of religious administration, if any, must come from within, not dictated by the court.
So stated Justice K. Chandru, dismissing a writ petition of a Christian-owned private security agency against the Subhramaniya Swamy Temple at Tiruchendur. He held that courts could not direct a temple management to engage the agency even if it provided only Hindu personnel. “Guarding a temple or a place of worship is a sensitive issue and ultimately it is for the temple to decide on such matters.”
He pointed out that Section 10 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act clearly states that all servants of a temple, from the Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to the last grade servants, including the security guards, must be Hindus.
He affirmed that a temple is not a State institution which could be forced to engage contractors of other faiths and explained that the Joint Commissioner had only supervisory authority; it was the Board of Trustees’ decision to engage a Hindu-owned security agency.