Close Down Temples if They Perpetuate Violence: Madras High Court

“If temples are going to perpetuate violence, the existence of temples will have no meaning, and in all such cases, it would be better to close down those temples so that the violence can be averted. Till the man drops his ego and goes to the temple seeking for the blessings of the god, the whole purpose of having a temple is of no use.”

These are observations made by the Madras HC according to a report by Livelaw. The Madras HC seems to be making several such observations (Attaching a similar judgment). The court’s observations came while hearing a dispute between two groups regarding the conduct of a temple festival. The petitioner had moved for police protection. Are you surprised? Do you find it absurd?

Just to make a point, there is a major dispute between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions in Kerala over the ownership of several churches. This dispute started in 1912. I don’t recall the Kerala HC saying that the churches should be shut down. Is it that these kinds of sermons from the judiciary are reserved only for the majority community?

I further have a few thoughts and a few questions about these observations made by the court.

1. The common man approaches the judiciary when he is desperately looking for a solution to a dispute. Isn’t it better that the judiciary stick to its job of resolving the dispute instead of passing loose remarks such as this one?
2. Who gives the Milords the right to talk about the “existence of temples” and about “closing down the temples”?
3. Our judiciary has millions of cases pending across the country. The judiciary has sufficiently proven its inefficiency in resolving these disputes and providing justice if we are to apply the legal maxim, ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’ Going by the same logic as the statement of the Madras HC above, I have a simple question for the Milords: Isn’t it better that we close down our courts since you can’t handle your job well?

Dear Milords,

None of us here are looking for spiritual advice from the judiciary. We don’t need the judiciary to tell us the ‘purpose of temples’ or why we go to temples. We all go to temples for various reasons, not just for the ‘blessings of the god,’ as you think. You may have wanted to make a point, but please learn to be sensitive. To put it a bit bluntly, please just stick to your job and get it done instead of making loose comments like this!