Reconstitute panel for selecting Kalaimamani awardees: Madras HC

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday directed the State government to expedite the process of framing guidelines regarding the eligibility criteria and method of selection of Kalaimamani awardees and to notify the guidelines on the official website of Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram (TNEINM).

A Bench of justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad also wanted the government to reconstitute the expert committee, which selects artists for conferring Kalaimamani awards, within three months. The authorities and the committee should strictly adhere to the guidelines to ensure that the selection process is fair, transparent and unbiased and that the award is conferred on only those who truly deserve it, the Bench said. The directions were issued on two PILs that alleged irregularities in the selection of Kalaimamani awardees.

The judges observed that the Kalaimamani award is a prestigious state award conferred on eminent artists who have dedicated their lives to the development of art and culture, including folk arts, cinema and television. 

“The aim and objective of the Tamil Nadu government in conferring these awards are to take the legacy of our cultural heritage forward to the future generations and to inculcate unswerving dedication in their minds to develop art and culture,” they added. From 1959 and 2020, the government has bestowed the award on 1,919 artists, they further noted.

But due to the absence of proper guidelines, the procedure and the eligibility criteria adopted for this award are vague and the awardees are chosen at the discretion of the TNEINM and its recommendations to the government, the judges pointed out and issued the above directions. Since one of the litigants alleged that ineligible persons were conferred with the award during the year 2019-2020, the judges directed the government to reexamine the eligibility of these awardees and take a decision preferably within three months.