Phones inside Tiruchendur temple; notice issued to TN govt

MADURAI:  The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking prohibition of possession and usage of smartphones inside Tiruchendur Subramaniya Swamy temple.

A Bench of justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad orally observed that the government could issue a circular in this regard and adjourned the case to November 17 for the government’s response.
The litigant, M Seetharaman, stated that the agama rule of every Hindu temple prohibits videotaping poojas or clicking photos of idols in the temple.

Therefore, cameras are not permitted in temples, he added. But smartphones are being used by devotees to take snaps of idols and poojas and the temple administration is unable to control the same, he alleged.
Pointing out that the HR&CE department has taken steps to prevent devotees from carrying mobile phones to Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple, he sought similar measures in the Tiruchendur temple as well.