The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Madras High Court order constituting a board to take over the administration of the ancient Lord Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, following allegations of maladministration.
A Bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul Pancholi issued notice on an appeal filed by the Podhu Dikshitars, the hereditary priests who manage the temple, challenging the High Court’s October 30 judgment.
After hearing counsel for the parties, the Supreme Court observed that the impugned judgment deserved to be stayed.
The High Court had found maladministration under the management of the Podhu Dikshitars and ordered the formation of a board comprising domain experts to oversee the temple’s administration.
It had flagged alleged non-religious commercial activities, including the conversion of parts of the temple premises into a “food court”, and failure to preserve temple properties.
The High Court had appointed retired judges V. Bharathidasan and R. Suresh Kumar as chairman and co-chairman of the board, respectively, with retired IAS officer C. Rajendran among its members.
However, the High Court had left the conduct of daily rituals and festivals exclusively with the Podhu Dikshitars, subject to established customs and practices.
It had also directed the priests to submit monthly accounts to the board and prescribed a single-window electronic payment system for donations.
The Supreme Court’s interim stay puts the High Court’s directions on hold pending further proceedings.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
