On Monday (22nd January), the Madras High Court ruled that no special police permission is required to telecast the Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha event in private spaces in Tamil Nadu.
The matter came up for hearing before a single Judge Bench of Justice Anand Venkatesh. The petition sought relief against the ‘verbal ban’ on Annadhanam (free food), special Puja and bhajans in private halls in Tamil Nadu imposed by the DMK government.
#RamLallaPranPrathishta | Justice Anand Venkatesh of #MadrasHC holds special sitting to hear plea against ban on annadhanam and bhajans in private halls in TN pic.twitter.com/AJG34648sP
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 22, 2024
“Ultimately everyone concerned must keep in mind that Bhakti towards God is only for peace and happiness and not to disturb the equilibrium prevailing in the society,” the Madras High Court emphasised.
It further added that prior information to the Executive Officer would suffice for temples which fall under the ambit of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department (HR & CE) in Tamil Nadu.
Justice Venkatesh: Ultimately everyone concerned must keep in mind that Bhakti towards God is only for peace and happiness and not to disturb the equilibrium prevailing in the society.#MadrasHC #RamLallaPranPratishta
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 22, 2024
As per a news report published by Tamil daily Dinamalar on Sunday (21st January), the DMK-led-Tamil Nadu government had reportedly given ‘unofficial verbal directive’ to temples against conducting special prayers and offering Annadanam (free food) on the occasion of Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha.
The report pointed out that the government has verbally warned temple administrators against organising special programmes on behalf of the devotees.
“No special puja, offering of Annadanam and any related programs should be held in Tamil Nadu temples on the occasion of the opening ceremony of Ayodhya Ram temple. No program should be held on behalf of the temple administration or in the name of devotees or in the name of organizations or parties. It should not be advertised. Action will be taken against the concerned temple executive if any activities including Annadanam are done in violation,“ the report emphasised.
The report further added that the Tamil Nadu police are actively working to prevent the live telecast of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha on big screens in public places in the State.
On Monday (22nd January), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed the Tamil Nadu government for not allowing live telecast of Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha in temples. FM Sitharaman was scheduled to witness the ceremony live at a private temple in a small village in Tamil Nadu. However, the police personnel came in plain clothes and removed the LEDs.
