Upto temples to prescribe dress code for devotees; court cannot issue directions: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court last week refused to issue general directions to all temples to put up sign boards prescribing a dress code, reasoning that it was not for the courts to venture into uncharted waters and thrust its opinions on society [Rangarajan Narasimhan v. The Additional Chief Secretary to Government]..A Bench of the Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy also stated that temples are at liberty to fix visible sign boards and take regulatory measures.The Bench emphasised that devotees were expected to maintain the sanctity of temples, and that they should follow the customs of the temple they were entering.“It is the devotees who should realise that they are entering into a place of worship and they need to adhere to the customs in vogue at such temple, if any.”.The petitioner, a temple activist, was seeking a direction to the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department to put up necessary visible sign boards mandating a dress code such as distinct sanathana dharma mark on the forehead of male and female devotees, dhothi/pyjama-kurta for men, saree/half-saree/salwar kameez for women, and fully-covered clothes for children..It was his submission that as per the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 only Hindus could enter a temple and in the absence of a dress code, people from other religions were also entering temples. The petitioner produced photographs to show that people were entering temples in different dresses, in the absence of a dress code.“The prescription of dress code is necessary to maintain the sanctity of the temple,” the petitioner argued..Advocate General R Shunmugasundaram opposed the plea, stating that the management of a temple was given the discretion to take regulatory measures in regard to the dress code..The Bench noted that since a mechanism was provided as per the Rules under the Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorisation Act to maintain order and decorum, there was no reason to accept the prayer..Further, emphasis was laid on the judgment in Mrinalini Padhi v Union of India, in which the Supreme Court said that the temple management could take regulatory measures in regard to the dress code to be followed, if it was customary.“Thus, it depends on the individual temple to prescribe the dress code,” the High Court said in the instant case..With this, it was concluded that the High Court could not issue a general direction to all temples to put up sign boards prescribing dress codes.“The general direction of the nature sought by the petitioner, appearing in person, cannot be given. If the temple is not having any dress code for the devotees, such devotees should be permitted to enter into the temple according to the provisions of the Act of 1947,” the Court said..However, it was stated that devotees were expected to enter temples in proper clothes to maintain the decorum..The petitioner appeared in person while the AG was assisted by Special Government Pleader NRR Arun Natarajan and State Government Pleader P Muthu Kumar..[Plea for bar on non-Hindus in temples] Are we one country or divided by religion: Madras High Court asks.[Read Judgment]