HAMM, GERMANY, June 19, 2023 (Legal Tribune Online, Google translated from German): Tens of thousands of devout Hindus visit the annual festival of the Hindu Sri Kamadchi Ampal temple in Hamm every year. The ex-government president therefore assigned the status of a church holiday. Followers of the Hindu community who want to take part in religious celebrations in Hamm these days can be released from work. Although you have to forego wages, you also do not have to use vacation days. That is because three days of the temple festival are considered religious holidays within the meaning of the NRW Holidays Act, according to the result of preliminary injunction proceedings before the Administrative Court (VG) Arnsberg (decision of June 16, 2023, Az. 12 L 776/23). For many years, tens of thousands of believers and guests have taken part in the temple festival, which has been celebrated in Hamm in June. It had long been discussed in the city that days of the festival should be declared religious holidays – and on the last day before he retired, the then incumbent district president kept this promise in August 2022.
However, in the notice of determination addressed to the city of Hamm, he had declared the temple festival as a whole – and not just individual days of the festival – to be a public holiday. However, the festival lasts for two weeks, and although no one wanted this number of days, this decision became final. It stayed that way until in May, a clerk in the district government withdrew the VA, which she considered illegal, and ordered immediate enforcement. The administrative court in Arnsberg has now restored the suspensive effect of the action to annul the action brought by the Hindu community in Germany against the withdrawal and the corresponding urgent application. The court could not judge with the necessary certainty whether the withdrawal was obviously lawful. The necessary assessment of the consequences would be in favor of the believers.
More on the issue at source.