How will temple trustee committee members be chosen, SC asks Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court on 11 December, Wednesday, directed the Tamil Nadu government to spell out its proposed actions over the appointment of the Arangavalar Committee (trustee committee) for all Hindu temples in the state.

"File an affidavit as to what you (state government) propose to do,” a bench comprising justices M.M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar asked the Tamil Nadu government counsel.

The direction came after the state government informed the apex court that it had sought applications for appointment of trustee committees from 31,000 temples and such panels were appointed in over 7,500 temples only as many were yet to respond.

The bench granted four weeks' time to the state government to file the affidavit and listed the plea of the petitioner, the Hindu Dharma Parishad, for February 2025.

Counsel for the state government said a very few people came up for appointment in the temples’ trust, despite the government issuing advertisements in this regard.

Counsel for the petitioner body claimed there were around 40,000 temples in the state and several old ones were getting damaged due to non-maintenance.

He said at least 10 per cent of the offerings made by devotees should be spent on the upkeep of temples.

The bench was hearing an appeal by the petitioner against the Madras High Court judgement of 9 December 2021, when Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana dismissed the plea for the appointment of an Arangavalar Committee for all Hindu temples in the state.

The plea in the high court sought the inclusion of a retired judge, a social activist, a devotee, a person from a Scheduled Caste and a woman in such committees to manage temple affairs.

It was argued in that case as well that several temples in the state were not being maintained properly and had suffered damages over time.

To address this issue, the plea proposed the formation of a trustee committee of diverse composition and submit a representation to the state government on 10 November 2021.

The state government opposed the petition at the time and argued that the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, already provided for the appointment of trustees to temple management boards.

According to Section 47(1)(c) of the Act, such a board of trustees must include a minimum of three and a maximum of five members, with mandatory representation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as women.

The high court had ruled that therefore there was no need for further adjudication, as the petitioner’s demands were already addressed by the statutory provisions of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act.