The Madras High Court on Wednesday, July 23, directed the Perambalur district authorities to ensure that the temple car procession of Sri Veda Mariamman Temple in Veppanthattai be taken through streets having Scheduled Caste residents.
Justice P Velmurugan passed the direction while quashing the Perambalur Revenue Divisional Officer's (RDO) June 3 peace committee proceedings in which a few members of the SC community were made to sign in agreement of the assertion that the temple car should not pass through their streets due to inadequate space.
The Madras High Court allowed a writ petition filed by two Scheduled Caste residents, S Vinoth Kumar and R Manivannan, who argued that the RDO’s proceedings were illegal and unconstitutional as it promoted discriminatory practices and denied their right to worship on the basis of caste.
The caste-hindu villagers, opposing the plea, argued that the streets in question were too small for the temple car and procession to pass through.
Justice Velmurugan on June 11, directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) secretary to measure the width of the streets, following the district administration’s claim that the temple car was 3.6 metres wide, and that it would be difficult to manoeuvre it through the streets, which were said to be five-metres wide.
However, the DLSA secretary filed a report denying the administration’s claim and confirmed that the streets were indeed wide enough for the temple car to pass through smoothly.
The judge further directed the Perambalur Deputy Superintendent of Police to ensure the smooth implementation of the court’s order and to deploy adequate police personnel to prevent any law and order issues during the procession through streets inhabited by SC community members.
This comes shortly after the Madras High Court passed a separate order on July 17, enabling members of the SC community to enter the Puthukudi Ayyanar Temple in Ariyalur district.