INDIA, August 23, 2022 (Verdictum.in): In a significant decision, the Madras High Court has held that the appointment of Archakas (priests) in a temple or group of temples constructed under the respective Agama shall, accordingly, be governed by the Agamas and not by Rules 7 and 9 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2020. The Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala held thus “…the appointment of Archaka/Poojari would be governed by the Agama under which the temple or group of temples were constructed. It is, however, with a clarity that this judgment would not be applicable to those temples which are not constructed as per the Agamas.” The Bench directed the State Government to constitute a Five-Member Committee, including therein Justice M. Chockalingam, Retired Judge of the Madras High Court, with N.Gopalaswami, Head of the Madras Sanskrit College’s Executive Committee, to identify the temples which were constructed as per Agamas.
The Court also expressed that in case any appointment of Archaka is made offending the Agamas, then the individual aggrieved person can challenge such appointment before the High Court. However, the Court clarified that the appointment of Archaka would be made by the trustees or a fit person and not by the HR & CE Department. The Bench has also held that transfer of the Archakas would not be permissible unless it is a case of transfer of Archaka of the temple governed by a particular Agama to a temple governed by the same Agama. The Bench was dealing with a batch of writ petitions challenging the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2020 introduced by the state government.
See here for further reporting: https://organiser.org/2022/08/24/92144/bharat/appointment-of-archakas-to-agamic-based-temples-should-be-governed-by-agamas-not-tn-govt-rules-madras-high-court/
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https://www.verdictum.in/court-updates/high-courts/madras-hc-appointment-archakas-governed-by-agamas-1435118