Court directive on opening temple

Tirupur: Dalit community from Vellakoil block who have been fighting for reopening of the Uthampalayam New Mariamman Temple and unrestricted access to the shrine since 2010, can now hope for immediate relief, following a new directive from the Madras High Court.

The High Court had directed the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO)- cum- Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Dharapuram to dispose of the case that is pending before the RDO-cum- SDM pertaining to closure of the temple following alleged tension that arose between Dalits and upper caste people, within eight weeks.

The latest directive from the High Court bench of Justice K.B.K. Vasuki had come on a petition filed by S. Karuppaiah, state joint general secretary of Dalit Liberation Movement- Tamil Nadu, and six others, before the High Court.

The temple was closed following promulgation of orders made by the RDO-cum-SDO under Section 107 of Criminal Procedure Code (security for keeping peace) to maintain tranquillity in the area subsequent to the tension between the two factions over the temple entry issue.

Four yearsS. Karuppaiah, the petitioner, told The Hindu that he, along with the others, moved the High Court as stipulated inquiry of the case taken up under Section 107 of CrPC was not getting to a conclusion despite four years having passed.

“Our aim is to ensure that all devotees get unrestricted access to the temple immediately, without caste discrimination,” he said.

Source: The Hindu