Bombay High Court permits opening of two Jain temples for five days on account of Diwali

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted permission to two Jain trusts to keep their respective temples open during the five days of Diwali for a specified time subjecting to regulating the entry of visitors..A Vacation Bench of Justice SK Kathawalla and Abhay Ahuja permitted the temples to remain open from November 13 to 17 from 6 am to 1 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm..The plea filed by two trusts - TAKL Gyan Mandir Trust and MRC Trust - sought opening of two temples managed by each trust for the festival of Diwali, after their representation to the State government went unanswered..They submitted that “provisions contained in Article 25 of the Constitution of India regarding public health is very well taken care of in Jainism, as Jainism inspires its followers to live an environment friendly life.”.Advocate Praful Shah, representing the Trusts highlighted that “rituals like ‘Jin Puja’ of the deity in temple are mandatorily performed by covering the mouth and the nose of a person. To remain physically contactless in the Jain temple is one of the primary code of conduct since ages and in this time because of pandemic, sufficient care will be taken to follow physical distancing during Diwali.”.He pointed out that the Government had opened malls and restaurants for aiding the economy, stating that even temples contribute substantially to the economy.."Depriving industries surviving on temple economy from its source of income is also discriminatory,"Shah said. .He also informed the court that in the past, it had allowed the opening of dining halls for performing religious rituals..Govt has allowed opening of restaurants, Jain devotees can be allowed to use temple dining halls: Bombay High Court observes.Advocate General AA Kumbhakoni raised concerns that if courts start granting leave to open Jain temples for Diwali, which is a festival celebrated by all Hindus, then "that would be discriminatory not only to the Hindu community but also to the other communities, who have not been allowed to open up their places of worship.".When the petitioners sought to open 102 Jain temples enlisted in their petition, Kumbhakoni strongly objected pointing out that "the plea was a writ petition and not a public interest litigation for opening temples and other places of worship".After considering submissions of both parties, the court opined that in light of opening of malls and restaurants, there will not be any injury or prejudice if two temples can be opened for 5 days in strict compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).They further observed that on the last two occasions when limited permission was granted, there had been no case of non-compliance in following the SOP or government guidelines while performing the rituals permitted by the court..In view of this, the court allowed the temples to remain open by allowing note more than 8 persons at a time for 15 minutes in the temple hall. This has to be strictly followed for the 5 days for which permission has been granted. .The court also clarified that this order was only restricted to the two temples and should not be used as a precedent by other persons to seek permission to hold any festivals or congregations..[Read order here]