The Madras High Court has ruled that caste pedigree and succession shall not play a role while appointing archakas (priests) to a temple, as long as the appointee is well-versed in the agamas and rituals, while citing previous Supreme Court verdicts. The order was passed on Monday, June 26, when Justice N Anand Venkatesh was hearing a writ petition by Muthu Subramania Gurukkal, a priest of the Sri Sugavaneswarar Swamy Temple in Salem. The petitioner had challenged an advertisement published by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) in 2018 calling for applications for the archaka post in the temple, stating that he came from a family of Sivachariyars (Brahmins who serve as temple priests) who have been performing pujas in the temple for many years.
In the writ petition, Muthu stated that the advertisement issued by the HR&CE “infringed upon the hereditary rights of the petitioner and others, who are rendering their services as per the customs in the line of succession from time immemorial.” The advertisement in question was being challenged by the petitioner because the Sugavaneswarar temple is classified as an agama temple.
Agama temples are those that are built according to agama shastras — instructions and rituals which detail how a temple must be built, what rituals should be followed, how the idols must be installed, and so on. In an August 2022 judgement, the Madras High Court had stated that agama temples would be exempted from the state government’s appointment of priests in the temples. In non-agama temples, the government was permitted to appoint priests from all castes. The same did not apply to agama temples where priests were appointed on a hereditary basis.
Referencing the Seshammal case of 1972 where a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court stated that the state government can be involved in appointing archakas and that it is not a ‘hereditary right’, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said, “It is clear from the said judgment of the Apex Court in Seshammal's case that the appointment of an archaka is a secular act and hence, the hereditary right cannot be claimed. In the matter of appointment of an archaka, the rule of next-in-line of succession cannot be insisted and a trustee is not bound to make the appointment on the sole ground that the candidate is next-in-line of succession to the last holder of the office.”
The High Court also noted that the appointment of an archaka is a secular function, and the appointee only needs to be well-versed in the agamas and the rituals to be performed, regardless of caste background. Anand Venkatesh said, “The Apex Court made it clear that performance of a religious service is an integral part of the religion whereas the archaka performing such service is not so. Any person belonging to any caste or creed can be appointed as an archaka provided he is a well-versed and an accomplished person in the Agamas and rituals necessary to be performed in a temple.” The court further said that caste pedigree will play no role in the appointment of an archaka if he satisfies all the other requirements.
The judgement said that a trustee or the executive officer of the temple is allowed to appoint an archaka to a temple. It said that as long as there is clarity on which agama the temple falls under, trustees and/or executive officers of the temple can appoint the archaka.
The court further directed the HR&CE to make no mention of the Rules 7 (age and educational qualifications for direct recruitment in temples) and 9 (other criteria for direct recruitment in temples) of the Hindu Religious Institutions Employees (Conditions of Service) 2020 Rules in the advertisements for archaka posts. Rather, the court asked the HR&CE to mention the requirements that are necessary as per the agama and make appointments in line with the same. “Ultimately, it is left open to the Committee, which consists of experts in the field, to satisfy themselves that the persons so selected fulfil the requirements prescribed by the agama,” the Court noted.
Disposing of the petition, the court directed the HR&CE to issue advertisement for the archaka post with the aforementioned guidelines. The court also allowed the petitioner Muthu to perform the pujas at the Sugavaneswarar temple till the appointment of the archakas was finalised, and also left it open to him to participate in the selection process.