The Madras High Court on Thursday (February 20, 2025) permitted public worship at Dharmaraja Droupadi Amman Temple in Melpathi village of Villupuram district, making it clear that the police could set the law in motion if anyone prevented Scheduled Caste (SC) devotees from entering the temple.
Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan passed the order while disposing of two writ petitions filed by local residents G. Gandhi and S. Raji in July 2023 to quash an order passed by the Villupuram Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) on June 7, 2023, to close down the temple indefinitely over caste clashes.
Passing interim orders on the two writ petitions, argued by senior counsel G. Karthikeyan and K. Balu, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh had on March 18, 2024, permitted the conduct of daily puja alone by a priest to be nominated by the Hindu Religious and Endowments (HR&CE) department.
Since the Villupuram Collector as well as the Superintendent of Police had told the court that it would not be advisable to open the temple for public worship during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the judge had decided to take a call on the matter after the conclusion of the polls.
When the petitions were listed for hearing on Thursday after nearly a year, Justice Ilanthiraiyan wanted to know what the current status was. Government Advocate (criminal side) K.M.D. Muhilan said, the priest alone had been conducting puja from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. every day and that public worship was still not permitted.
He said the situation in the village continued to be volatile and that there were chances of caste clashes if public worship was permitted. On the other hand, Mr. Karthikeyan said, the local residents were not happy with the halting of public worship for more than 20 months.
The senior counsel also stated that no one could be prevented from entering the temple on the basis of caste and that criminal action could be initiated against those who prevent such entry. After recording his submission, the judge directed the Revenue, HR&CE, and Police departments to reopen the temple for public worship.
When one of the counsels insisted on providing police protection for public worship, the judge turned down the request. “What is all this? Can the police keep giving protection for worship in every other temple? Do you go to the temple for worshipping the God or for creating trouble?” the judge asked.
