The Supreme Court has stayed a Madras High Court order directing that parts of the administration of the Lord Nataraja temple in Tamil Nadu’s Chidambaram be transferred from a community of priests to a five-member board.
The Podhu Dikshitars – hereditary priests who manage the temple – challenged this order in the Madras High Court. However, the high court also noted that modern construction had caused damage to certain parts of the temple and emphasised the need to examine the temple’s accounts and property records. It directed that a board be set up, consisting of two retired high court judges, a retired IAS officer, the secretary of the Podhu Dikshitars, and the secretary of the state’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. The board was empowered to oversee the arrangements for darshan, monitor financial matters, and recover temple properties. However, the responsibility for daily rituals and periodic religious festivals remained with the Dikshitars. Representing the Dikshitars in the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan argued that the high court had gone beyond the specific dispute regarding darshan from the Kanakasabha and had effectively stripped the community of the administration of the entire temple. Vaidyanathan stated that the Supreme Court had already recognised the Dikshitars as a religious denomination and has acknowledged their right to manage the temple. He also contested the claim that the Dikshitars were responsible for the alterations made to the temple, adding that the temple’s audited accounts had already been submitted.
The controversy began with a May 2022 order from the Tamil Nadu government, which granted devotees permission to offer prayers from the ‘Kanakasabha’ – an elevated platform located within the temple complex where special prayers and rituals are traditionally performed. They argued that the government’s directive infringed upon their right to manage religious affairs, as guaranteed under Article 26 of the Constitution. Upholding the government’s order during a hearing on October 30, the high court held that allowing devotees to have darshan (viewing of the deity) from the Kanakasabha would not interfere with religious rituals. He referred to the Supreme Court’s 2014 Subramanian Swamy judgment, in which the appointment of an executive officer by the state government to manage the temple was set aside.
Representing the state government, a senior advocate referred to a report by the Heritage Commission, which documented the changes made to the temple’s structure. This also included changes to the path leading to the sanctum sanctorum. The government also expressed concerns regarding the temple’s accounts and urged the Supreme Court to defer its decision on interim relief until a formal response could be filed. During the hearing, the bench questioned whether there was any evidence to prove that the Dikshitars were responsible for the structural alterations made to the temple. “After hearing the counsel for both sides, it is our considered view that the impugned judgment should be stayed.
Accordingly, the judgment is stayed,” it said.
