Chennai: In a landmark judgment, the Madras High Court has said that if a person of another religion has faith in any other god of Hinduism and wants to visit them, he cannot be prevented from entering the temple of that deity nor can he be banned from entering the temple. The court then turned down the petition. A division bench of Justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha gave the verdict while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

The plea had sought a direction from the court that non-Hindus should not be allowed to take part in the Kumbhabisegam festival of Arulmighu Adikesava Perumal Tirukovil in Tiruvattar. The petition was filed by a person named C Soman. In fact, an invitation letter circulated for organising the Kumbhabishegam festival also mentions the name of a minister, who is a Christian. Based on this, this petition was filed. Giving an example, the court said that devotional songs sung by Dr K.J. Yesudas, a Christian since birth, are played in many Hindu temples. Even in Nagaur Dargah and Velankanni Church, a large number of Hindu worshippers regularly visit without any objection.

At the same time, the court also said that when such big religious festivals take place, it is impossible for the authorities to check the religious identity of every person and then allow him to come to the temple. The court said, "In our opinion when a temple is celebrated with a public festival like Kumbabishegam, it becomes impossible for the authorities to check the religious identity of every devotee to allow entry into the temple." Moreover, if a person belonging to another religion believes in a particular Hindu deity, he cannot be stopped nor his entry into a temple can be restricted.

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