“Temple Is Not A Place For Commercial Activities”: Madras HC Directs HR & CE Department To Find Possibility Of Preparing & Distributing ‘Prasadam’ Itself
The Madras High Court has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Chennai to find out the possibility of preparing and distributing ‘Prasadam’ to the devotees by itself without commercializing the same.
The Madurai Bench directed thus in a writ petition filed by a man running prasadam stalls who challenged the e-auction/e-tender notification inviting tenders for getting licence for obtaining Prasada Stall at Srirangam Arulmigu Aranganathaswamy Temple.
A Single Bench of Justice B. Pugalendhi observed, “It is also reported that the persons, who are running the Prasadam Stalls, are taking the lease for running the Prasadam Stalls every year. In fact, the petitioner himself has admitted that he is running the Prasadam Stalls in other Temples for the past ten years. While so it is not known as to how transparency is ensured in this process. One should not loose sight of the fact that Temple is not a place for commercial activities.”
The Bench remarked that the deities are worshipped ritualistically and the temple prasad forms a key element of the worship, giving immense satisfaction to its devotees.
Senior Advocate C. Arul Vadivel @ Sekar represented the petitioner while Special Government Pleader (SGP) P. Subbaraj and Advocate M. Saravanan represented the respondents.
Brief Facts -
The case of the petitioner was due to onerous conditions imposed in the tender notification due to which he was unable to participate in the tender. Therefore, he challenged the same. As per the counsel, the petitioner was running prasadam stalls in Shri Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple, Thiruvannamalai and in few other temples for the past 10 years continuously. He was a Brahmin and since he did not belong to Vaishnava Sect, he was unable to participate in the tender. He qualified all other conditions of the tender notification and the previous year tender did not contain such conditions and no other temple in the State imposed such condition.
It was submitted that the practice of holding licence and engaging in management and running prasada stall Sribandaram Baniyarapodu, Chatrapodu at Srirangam Arulmigu Aranganathaswamy temple is not an integral part of religion and it is secular in character. It was further submitted that the prasadam is a food made at Madapalli in a pious way and presented to the deity and distributed to the devotees in small quantity and is not meant for sale. It was also submitted that most of the food items in the prasadam stalls are not presented to the deity and the preparation and sale of these food items do not come within the ambit of religious practice but is a commercial activity of running a food stall in the temple. Therefore, it was prayed by the petitioner that the conditions be removed.
The High Court in view of the above submissions noted, “Whatever is offered in the Temple as Prasadam, must have its own unique quality and a speciality / tradition. The Laddu, which is offered as a Prasadam at Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupathi, is having its own quality and speciality and it has also been recognized with Geographical Identification tag. Similarly, the Prasadams like Palani Panjamirtham [which has also been recognized with GI tag] and Alagarkovil Dosa have their own speciality.”
The Court said that it is the duty of the Temple administration to ensure the quality of such Prasadams, which are provided in the Temple. It observed that Prasadam refers to the blessings of the deity.
“While so it is not known why the Department is permitting the private individuals to sell this prasadam, who are treating the same as a commercial activity. Some of the Executive Officers, realising the importance of the Prasadams offered in the name of the temple, have made arrangements to produce the Prasadams on their own and supplying the same to the devotees with quality. However, most of the Temples are leasing it out to private individuals and it is not known as to how they are ensuring the quality of these Prasadams provided by private individuals, who are doing it as a commercial one”, it asked.
The Court further noted that the Temple can generate higher income through the Prasadam Stalls preparing prasad by the Temple itself, instead of leasing it out to private individuals and also considered the example of the practice adopted in Arulmigu Kallalagar Temple as to how there can be more income for the Temple through these Prasadams, if proper infrastructure is provided.
“Income is not the criteria,but it must also have the quality, hygiene etc., When it is sold as a prasadam of the deity, it is the responsibility of the Executive Officer that these Prasadams are offered with more quality. This can be achieved only when these Prasadams are prepared by the Temple itself, the Temple administration. The offerings if any sold in the name of the temple must possess certain standards and the same can be achieved only by the Department. If it is possible at Alagarkovil, and Murugan temple at Palani and few other temples, it is also possible in the remaining temples”, it added.
The Court emphasised that India is beautifully embedded with temples of all kinds and such temples not only make our country religiously rich but also fill up with historical pride. It said that they are not only architectural wonders but also attract tourists not just from across India but across the globe.
“Temples in Hinduism are centres of religious worship and hubs of social interaction. … It is reported that the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, in collaboration with Department of Posts, Tamil Nadu Circle, on 18.05.2023 has launched the booking of temple Prasadams through web portal of HR & CE Department and despatch of Prasadams through Speed Post of Postal Department. While so the department can also work out the possibility of preparing the prasadam on their own without leasing it to individual / commercial operators”, it observed.
Moreover, the Court elucidated that every temple has its unique customs and traditions which is to be recognised and respected by the temple administration and the term vaishnavite does not denote a particular community.
“Considering the significance of the temple prasadam and the experience gained by the Department from Alagar Temple and Meenakshi Amman Tmeple, the first respondent / Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Chennai, shall look into this issue of Prasadam, in the light of the observations made supra and find out the possibility of preparing and distributing prasadam to the devotees by the department itself in the interest of the public, temple and without commercializing the same”, it ordered.
The Court also took note of the fact that all those worship Lord Perumal are Vaishnavite and it cannot be termed as a discrimination and that the petitioner has not renewed his GST registration and therefore, he was not allowed to participate in the tender.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the writ petition.
Cause Title- C.S. Vaithiyanathan v. The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department & Anr.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Senior Advocate C. Arul Vadivel @ Sekar and Advocate S. Krishnakumar.
Respondents: SGP P. Subbaraj and Advocate M. Saravanan.
