Madras High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Ban On Village Temple Festival

The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL seeking to halt or postpone a temple celebration on the grounds that it would disrupt students taking their board examinations.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed the petition, saying that there is more to life than exams.

“Children should not be inconvenienced, but cancelling the event is not a solution. Throughout the day, the children can be made to prepare in an isolated location. Exam is not only life. Festivals are also significant,” the bench stated.

The Court was hearing a PIL filed by S Murugesan, a daily wager, who sought an interim order preventing local village committees and temple officials in Salem district from holding the Panguni festival, which is held between March and April. He also sought a restraint on any additional activities, such as the installation of loudspeakers that would disrupt the students in the neighbourhood who are studying for their Class X and Class XII board examinations.

The Court ruled that halting the temple celebration, a much-anticipated yearly event, would not be the solution.

The bench further stated that thousands of children throughout the state were studying for their examinations despite several obstacles. As a result, it stated that it could not halt an entire festival for the petitioner’s “one son.”

The Court also accepted the State government’s contention that people and village and temple officials had been ordered to follow anti-noise pollution laws, and that necessary security preparations will be put in place throughout all villages celebrating the festival.

Thus, the petition was dismissed with a direction to the concerned village committees not to use loudspeakers on exam days.