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HC places Marxists ahead of Hindu believers in Kerala

George Iype in Kochi

Atheist Marxists have won a legal battle over Hindu believers for administering some of the richest temples in Kerala.

The Kerala high court dismissed a petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Kerala Shethra Samrakshana Samiti [Kerala Temple Protection Council], which sought irreligious Hindu politicians and ministers to be banned from temple administration.

It asked the court to ensure that only those Hindu ministers and MLAs who believed in god and temple worship are given the power to nominate members to temple managing boards.

But in a landmark judgment, the court on Thursday upheld the Communist Party of India-Marxist government's argument that Hindu ministers and politicians need not be believers for nominating members to the state's apex temple managing committees - the Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards and the Guruvayur Devaswom Board.

VHP and KSSS leaders say they approached the court for "religious justice" as some of the biggest places of worship like the Guruvayur and Sabarimala temples have been systematically "mismanaged and misused by atheist politicians from Communist parties."

"It is an insult to Hinduism that temples are managed by ministers and politicians who hate god and temple worship. No politician has any right to indulge in religious and temple matters of the Hindu believers," VHP general secretary R Ravindran told rediff.com.

He said the VHP is "saddened" by the judgment that gives a free hand to the government to interfere in temples and their properties across the state. "We are planning to move the Supreme Court," Ravindran added.

The crux of the battle between Chief Minister E K Nayanar's government and the VHP-KSSS leaders is the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institution Act.

Early this year, the government amended the Act by doing away with an age-old requirement that Hindu ministers and MLAs should make a signed declaration that they do believe in god and temple worship before electing members to temple boards.

VHP, KSSS and other Hindu groups alleged that the amendment was politically motivated as it ensured that the ruling government fills up vacancies in rich temple bodies with its own men.

But the government argued that since freedom of thought was the hallmark of Hindu religion, Hindus also have the right not to believe in god and temple worship. That could not be a reason for denying the Hindu ministers the right to choose or nominate members to the administrative bodies religious institutions.

The government counsel Ashok Desai also contended that the duties of managing committee members were purely administrative in character and did not touch upon the traditional religious duties of temples.

The five-member high court bench led by Justice A R Lakshmanan perused the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Act and dismissed the VHP-KSSS petition stating that the Hindu ministers and MLAs need not be practitioners of Hindu faith.

"The freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution was not an uncontrolled freedom," the court stated.

"The religious freedom which has been safe-guarded by the Act is religious freedom in the background of a secular state. Courts have held that the administration of a religion institution is not a matter of religion. The state can control and regulate the administration of the secular affairs of a temple by suitable measures," the court declared.

Interestingly, some years ago, the Kerala high court had come out with a judgment that temple nominating bodies should consist of only Hindus who believed in god or temple worship. The bench, however, said it disagrees with the earlier judgment.

But the court held that it would be better for temples and worshippers if politicians are avoided in temple affairs and politicking is stopped in devaswom boards.

The verdict also said that those non-believing Hindu ministers and MLAs have the responsibility to ensure that only persons of integrity, with faith in temple worship and god, are nominated to the boards.

KSSS president M P Gopalakirshnan Nair claimed the verdict would enable many Marxist ministers and politicians to freely interfere and influence the running of temple management boards.

"The court order also neglects the rules of temples boards. For instance, the Guruvayur Devaswom Act states that only persons who have faith in god and professes Hindu religion are qualified to manage its affairs," Nair told rediff.com.

Therefore, he said, the judgment is fraught with danger for the believers of Hinduism as "a bunch of hardcore atheist communists have begun occupying temples boards."

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