Appointment of Archakas to temples constructed as per Agamas should be governed by Agamas, not TN Rules: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held on Monday held that appointment of Archakas to temples constructed under Agamas should be governed by the Agamas and not by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2020 [All India Adi Saiva Sivacharyargal Seva Sangam v State of Tamil Nadu]..A bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala was hearing a plea seeking a direction against the State and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department from making appointments of Archakas and other Agama related personnel in temples.“The appointment of Archakas in the temples constructed as per Agamas would be governed by the Agamas and for that the Rules under challenge would not apply. It would otherwise offend Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India”, the Court said..It was emphasised that Article 26 of the Constitution postulates that every religious denomination has the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious, charitable purposes and manage its own affairs in the manner provided by the religion..The Court, however, refused to accept the challenge to specific provisions of the rules. However, the doctrine of reading down was applied to protect the petitioners’ rights guaranteed under Articles 16(5), 25 and 26 of the Constitution..To achieve this, it was found that temples constructed as per the Agamas have to be identified. For this purpose, the State government was directed to constitute a five-member committee.Retired Madras High Court judge, Justice M Chockalingam will be the chairperson of the committee, with N Gopalaswami, Head of the Madras Sanskrit College's executive committee as one of the members. The Commissioner of the HR&CE Department would be an ex-officio member, the Court further ordered.Two more members were directed to be nominated by the government in consultation with the chairperson..The petitioners had moved the court claiming that the rules prescribing eligibility and qualification for different posts including that of Archaka or Poojari had been framed in ignorance of the rituals and customs stipulated in the Agamas..According to the rules, the petitioners pointed out, an Archaka who has studied poojas in the gurukul and gained three years’ experience would be ineligible for not having undergone the one-year certificate course. It was argued that the prescription of this qualification was nothing but an assault on the rights of the Sivachariyars..Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram vehemently opposed the prayer made in the plea. He pointed out that the Rules under challenge were not only applicable for appointment to the post of Archaka, but also others and if they are struck down, the appointment of officers and employees would be unguided.The Court agreed with this argument stating that the government framed the rules to prescribe eligibility and qualification of officers and employees of the temple.“It is, however, necessary to apply the doctrine of reading down of those provisions with regard to the appointment of Archakas in the temple or group of temples, which were constructed as per Agamas,” the bench said..Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran, advocates R Parthasarathy, P Valliappan, N Vengatesh and P Neelakantan appeared for the petitioners while the respondents were represented by Advocate General R Shanmugasundaram, Special Government Pleader NRR Arun Natarajan and advocate AG Shakeenaa..[Read Judgment]