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The Madras High Court said on Monday in an order that “lineage on the basis of caste” would have no role to play in the appointment of temple priests, and that the only criterion for such appointments would be how familiar a person was with religious texts and rituals.
A Muthu Subramania Gurukal filed a written petition in 2018, challenging a job advertisement for the position of Archagar/Sthanigar (temple priest, also known as Archaka) at Sri Sugavaneswarar Swamy Temple, Salem. He argued that appointments should follow the specific principles of the Agama (scriptures governing temple rites) to which the temple is bound, and that declaring the post violated the hereditary right of the petitioner and others, who, according to the petition, have been offering their services in the temple under the line of succession from time immemorial.
In his order, Justice Anand Venkatesh said that the appointment of the temple priests would be governed by the Agama. However, citing previous Supreme Court rulings, the order said the priest caste is not an integral part of the religion.
The order said that any person, regardless of caste or creed, could be appointed as an archaic if he was knowledgeable and skilled in the necessary religious books and rituals.
“The Supreme Court distinguished between the religious oath and the secular part, and held that the religious service by the Archaka is the secular part of the religion and the performance of the religious service is an integral part of the religion. Therefore, the recipe given by the Agamas only gains importance when it comes to performing religious service. As a result, anyone belonging to any caste or creed can be appointed as archa provided that he is well-versed and proficient in the agamas and the rituals required to perform in the temple,” the order said.
The order said: “…it is quite evident that lineage on the basis of caste will have no part to play in the appointment of the Archaka if the person thus chosen meets the requirements”.
Following the petition filed in 2018, the Supreme Court Division I Board has, in 2022, set up a panel led by retired Madras High Court Judge M Chokalingam to select temples in the state based on whether they follow agamic (scripture-based) or religious practices. Is agamic.
The High Court order said that appointments to temples could proceed as normal, even before the committee had submitted its report, if there was no doubt about a particular agama to follow to a particular temple. He also allowed the recruitment process to continue in the Sri Sugavaneswarar Swamy Temple, and stated that the petitioner is also free to apply for the position of the temple priest.
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