The issuance of showcause notice to the Tantri of Sabarimala, no doubt, is a direct assault on the religious beliefs and customs of Hindu devotees. Undoubtedly, a secular Government is devoid of any power, whatsoever, to interfere with temple administration, or its customs and rituals. However, the ruling Government has been constantly challenging the authority of the Tantri who, undeterred, has stood by his vow to protect the Chaitanya of Lord Ayyappa.
Being so, determined to foist the fast-fading Communist ideologies in to Hindu beliefs, the Government used the Devaswom Board-supposedly an independent body entrusted with the statutory duty to protect the customs and usages of the temples under it. The conduct of the Board, with respect to the Sabarimala issue, has made it apparent that it is merely a stooge of the Government and would happily bend over backwards to carry out its dictates. Now the question remains whether the Board, governed by the statutory mandate under the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 (the Act), has the power to issue any notice questioning the Tantri’s decision with respect to any custom, usage, ritual or purification ceremony.
Before adverting to the power, if any, it may be relevant to note the role and significance of a Tantri. There are two schools of thought with respect to the role of a Tanthri – one which holds the Tantri as a ‘Guru’, while the other which holds him as a ‘Pita’ of the idol. The Tantri is the spiritual head of a temple and “all matters concerning permissible rituals, customary practices and pujas to be performed” (1) have to be determined by him. He is considered to be an alter ego of the deity and he gives ‘moola mantra’ to the priests. Tantri is the final authority with respect to spiritual and religious matters and is not an employee of the Devaswom Board. The Tantric right is conferred on the family and a Tantri can be replaced only when he expresses his incapacity to continue or when the family becomes extinct. (2)
In fact, as per the Act, the Board is duty bound to ensure that the regular traditional rites and ceremonies according to the practice prevalent in the religious institution is performed and its usages are preserved. Needless to state, the Board is not endowed with any powers to question any decision touching upon the spiritual aspects or rituals of the temple, let alone any purification ceremony undertaken as a part of preserving the aura and divinity of the deity. In view thereof, any notice aimed at examining any spiritual aspect entrusted with the Tantri will be illegal. This is more so in view of the fact that “it is well accepted, settled and recognized that rites, rituals and ceremonies in a temple are to be determined by the Tantri and not by anyone else”.(3) The legal position that the administration or the management of a Temple does not get the power to change the Tantri remains settled by the High Court of Kerala. (4) Furthermore, the said position attained finality with the dismissal of a challenge made to the said judgment before the Apex Court. (5)
- Shri Marthanda Varma (D) ThrLr&Anr v State of Kerala & Ors SLP(C) No.11295 of 2011–order dated 9.10.2015
- The question of removal due to criminal misconduct stands on a different footing.
- Vasudevan Bhattathirippad v Mallapally Thirumalida Mahadeva Temple ILR 2014 (4) Kerala 389
- Ibid
- SLP (C) No.7479 of 2015-order dated 28.11.2017
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