Madras High Court orders TN Archaeological Department to take control of Hindu temple after finding that statue is of Buddha; halts pooja

The Madras High Court recently ordered the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department to take control of a Hindu temple in Salem after finding that it was originally a Buddhist temple [P Ranganathan v. State of Tamil Nadu]..Justice N Anand Venkatesh also directed the authorities to ensure that no Hindu poojas and other ceremonies are performed at the sculpture of Buddha on the premises.The Court relied on a report submitted by the Principal Secretary & Commissioner of the Archaeological Department which concluded that the sculpture inside the temple was clearly of Buddha.“The mistaken identity cannot be allowed to continue after coming to a conclusion that the sculpture is that of Buddha,” the single-judge held..The petition was moved by a Buddhist trust seeking restoration of the contested land and premises, which was under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.They claimed that despite the statue installed in the temple being that of Buddha, it had been converted into a Hindu deity called Thalaivetti Muniyappan and was being worshipped by Hindus..In order to put quietus to the entire controversy, the Court sought a report from the Archaeological Department.The report suggested that after cleaning the figure, it was found that the head showed traits of Buddha such as curly hair, ushnisa (crown of hair) and elongated earlobe.Therefore, it concluded that the sculpture depicted several mahalakshanas (great traits) of Lord Buddha."After inspecting the sculpture and carefully examining the available archaeological and historical evidences at our disposal, the Committee collectively expressed their opinion that the sculpture depicts several mahalakshanas (great traits) of the Buddha," read the report's concluding remarks.On this finding, the Court noted that the assumption of the HR & CE Department that the premises was a temple was no longer sustainable, and the control ought to go into the hands of another authority..The State government, however, argued that the premises had been treated as a temple of Thalaivetti Muniyappan for a considerable period of time, and that the people of the locality came to this place for worship. Therefore, the HR & CE Department ought to continue to have control of the place, treating it as a temple..While rejecting this argument, Justice Venkatesh said that after examining the report, it would not be appropriate to permit the HR & CE Department to continue to treat the sculpture as Thalaivetti Muniyappan, as this would go against the very tenets of Buddhism.“In view of the same, the original status must be restored and permitting the HR & CE Department, to continue to treat the sculpture as Thalaivetti Muniappan, will not be appropriate and it will go against the very tenets of Buddhism.”.Considering this, the Archaeological Department was directed to take control of the premises and maintain the sculpture. It was also directed to put up a board inside the property clarifying that the statue was of Buddha.While the general public was allowed to enter the place, it was clarified that no Hindu pooja or other ceremonies would be performed at the sculpture of Buddha..Advocate S Sathia Chandran appeared for the petitioners while the respondents were represented by Additional Government Pleader S Yashwanth and Government Advocate TK Saravanan..[Read Order]