The Supreme Court on Monday directed authorities in Tamil Nadu to act in accordance with the law and not based on any ‘oral order’ regarding the “banning” of special prayers and live telecast of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in all temples across the state.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, while hearing a plea seeking quashing of an “oral order” dated January 20 banning live telecast of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya in temples across Tamil Nadu, stated that no one is bound to abide by oral orders.
Senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, representing Tamil Nadu, stated on record that there are no restrictions on ‘puja archana’ in temples or live telecast of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya. He dismissed the plea as “politically motivated”.
The bench has asked the authorities to record the reasons and maintain data of applications which have been allowed for ‘Puja archana’ and live telecast of the consecration ceremony in temples and those which have been disallowed.
The plea, filed by Vinoj, alleges that the DMK-run Tamil Nadu government has banned the live telecast of the “pran prathishta” of Lord Ram at Ayodhya in all temples across Tamil Nadu and has also banned all kinds of prayers, ‘annadanam’ (poor feeding), and ‘bhajans’ on the occasion.
However, Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister, P K Sekar Babu, refuted these claims on Sunday, stating that the HR and CE Department has not imposed any kind of ban for the conduct of puja for Shri Ram. He also confirmed that there is no bar to distribute ‘Annadhanam’ and ‘Prasadam’, dismissing the claim as false news with ulterior motives. The bench has sought a response from the Tamil Nadu government on the plea by January 29.
Also Read: Ram Temple Ceremony: Officials Keeping Vigil On Cybercriminals, Social Media Content
