Madras High Court
R.Jegan vs The Superintendent Of Police on 20 March, 2019
Author: N.Seshasayee
Bench: N.Seshasayee
1
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED : 20.03.2019
CORAM :
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SESHASAYEE
W.P.(MD)No.6608 of 2019
R.Jegan ... Petitioner
Vs
1.The Superintendent of Police,
Kanyakumari District @ Nagercoil.
2.The Inspector of Police,
Puthukadai Police Station,
Kanyakumari District. ... Respondents
Prayer: Writ Petition - filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the
records passed by the second respondent herein in his proceedings
vide Nil dated 17.03.2019 and quash the same in so for as the
portion of impugned order denying the petitioner from giving Police
Protection and permission for taking procession with elephants
carried on top with the Utchavamoorthy Deities of his Temple with
Band set from Thengampattinam Sea with certain conditions as
illegal and consequently direct the respondents herein to grant Police
protection and permission to take procession with elephants carried
on top with the Utchavamoorthy Deities of Naduthanavilai Arulmigu
Bhadreswari Amman Temple with Band set to the Thengapattinam
Sea and have a holy dip and bath the Deities and return back to the
temple on 26.03.2019 between 04.30 P.M and 8.00 P.M. as per the
http://www.judis.nic.in
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Panguni Festival programme schedule 2019.
For Petitioner : Mr.B.Brijesh Kishore
For Respondents : Mrs.S.Bharathi
Government Advocate (Crl. Side)
ORDER
The present petition is filed by the petitioner / organizer of certain festival in Naduthanavilai Arulmigu Badhreswari Amman Temple, seeking a direction to quash the proceedings of the second respondent dated 17.03.2019, wherein the second respondent imposed certain restrictions including the time allotted for the “Aaratu” festival.
2.1 Earlier, the petitioner had approached the second respondent seeking permission for taking the deity on elephant's back, a custom followed in most temples in Kanyakumari District, as is being followed in temples of Kerala, since Kanyakumari District had been part of State of Travancore-Cochin before the State Re-organisation. The prayer this year, as in earlier years was to have a small procession of elephants from the temple to the seashore, dip the deity in sea, and return to the temple against with the deity on elephant's back.
2.2 In this regard, a representation was made on 10.01.2019 by the petitioner to the second respondent, but he did not consider it http://www.judis.nic.in 3 necessary to take any necessary decision on the same for the next 56 days. This forced the petitioner to file W.P.(MD).No.5487 of 2019 for issuing a direction to the second respondent to consider the petitioner's request for grant of necessary permission for holding the áarattu' festival .
2.3. When the said petitioner came up before this Court, after hearing the learned Government Advocate (Crl.Side), this Court directed the second respondent to consider and make such appropriate decision on the representation/request of the petitioner dated 10.01.2019 with a specific direction that the second respondent shall 'understand and appreciate the local faith and long term practice associated with worshipping followed in the Temple and pass orders on the same as expeditiously as possible'. Subsequently, on 17.03.2019, the second respondent has passed an order with the following conditions:
● That the procession of elephants shall stop at Thengapattinam Check post from where the deity may be taken by feet through some coconut grew for the remainder part of the festival and back.
● That the petitioner shall avoid disturbing the mosque on the way during the prayer time in the evening.
● That the petitioner should not do anything to go as would http://www.judis.nic.in 4 amount to interference with the religious sentiments of other religion.
3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner now submits along with photographs in page No.39 of the typed set of papers that the elephant's procession was allowed to go up to the seashore in the case of some other temple festivals, and the second respondent deliberately denies this to the present petitioner. He also brought to the notice of this Court an earlier order passed by this Court in W.P. (MD.No.5544 of 2018, wherein this Court has quashed almost an identical proceedings of the second respondent last year in following terms:
“9.A perusal of the order passed by the Inspector of Police, Pudukadai Police Station, Kanyakumari District, shows that he has not stated any reason for denying the permission to the petitioner for taking elephants and band set up to seashore and therefore, the said order is quashed. The Inspector of Police, Pudukadai Police Station, Kanyakumari District, is directed to consider the petitioner's representation dated 19.02.2018 and pass order citing the reasons on or before 19.03.2018.”
4. It is now apparent that despite suffering an order last year in W.P. (MD.No.5544 of 2018, the second respondent appears to be acting http://www.judis.nic.in 5 with a particular motive if not display an element of malafide to repeat the very aspect on which this Court had came down last year. In arriving at this conclusion, this Court also takes into account the inexplicable delay on the part of the second respondent to consider the petitioner's representation/request dated 10-01-2019 for 56 days by the second respondent from 10.01.2019, till this Court directed him to do that which he could well do without an order.
5. The net effect of the second respondent's attitude is he has put pressure on precious court's time, something he could have enabled this Court to save for attending other cases. This abject indifference cannot be allowed to repeated lest it would become an annual feature for parties to approach this Court for things that need not and should not come to this Court.
6. This Court now quashes the impugned proceedings of the second petitioner dated 17.03.2019 to a limited extent and allows the petitioner to take the procession of elephants till the seashore during the aarattu, and the time is also enlarged to 8 p.m. in the night on the date of aarattu.
7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court grants permission to give Police Protection and permission for taking http://www.judis.nic.in 6 procession with elephants carried on top with the Utchavamoorthy Deities of Naduthanavilai Arulmigu Bhadreswari Amman Temple with Band set to the Thengapattinam Sea and have a holy dip and bath the Deities and return back to the temple on 26.03.2019 as per the Panguni Festival programme schedule 2019 and the Writ Petition stands allowed with the following directions:
8. The second respondent / Inspector of Police, Pathukadai Police Station, Kanyakumari District, is directed to give permission and to provide police protection for taking procession with elephants carried on top with the Utchavamoorthy Deities of Naduthanavilai Arulmigu Bhadreswari Amman Temple with the traditional bands to the Thengapattinam sea and have a holy dip and bath the Deities and return back to the temple scheduled to be held on 26.03.2019, before 08.00 p.m., in connection with “Panguni Festival Programme subject to the following conditions:-
(a)the participants are directed not to harass the animals.
(b) no flex boards in support of any political party or communal leader, shall be erected at the premises of the programme.
(c) the programme shall not affect either religious or communal harmony and shall be conducted http://www.judis.nic.in without any discrimination based on caste.7
(d) if there is violation of any one of the conditions imposed, the concerned police officer is at liberty to take necessary action, as per law and stop such performance forthwith; and
(e) the participants of the programme shall not intake any kind of in-toxic substance or liquor during the programme; and
(f) if any untoward incident takes place, the organizers of the programme be made responsible for the same
(g) No donation shall be received from any political party or in the name of any Member associated with any political party.
(h) No price shall be given in the name of any political party or in the name of any Member associated with any political party.
(i) No speeches supporting or opposing any political party shall be made. No symbol of any political party or picture of any person affiliated in the political party shall be used.
(j) The function will be conducted in the spirit of function and there will not be a bogey for political parties for the general election, 2019.
9. The second respondent / the Inspector of Police, Puthukadai Police Station, Kanyakumari District is directed to take all steps to ensure that the programme is conducted in a peaceful manner. The petitioner shall give an undertaking that he will take responsibility for the elephants procession and no law and order problem will arise.
10.The Inspector whose indifference has led to the filing of this http://www.judis.nic.inpetition is now directed to deposit Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five 8 Thousand only) to the District Legal Service Authority, Nagercoil, within a period of one week from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If he is already transferred, then the Superintendent of Police, kanyakumari district is required to realise the same from him and cause it to deposit the same.
11.The copy of the order is directed to place before the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kannyakumari District.
12. Post the matter on 15.04.2019 for reporting compliance of this order. No costs.
20.03.2019
Internet : Yes/No
Index : Yes/No
Tsg
Note : Issue order copy by 21.03.2019
http://www.judis.nic.in
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N.SESHASAYEE, J.
Tsg
To
1.The Superintendent of Police,
Kanyakumari District @ Nagercoil.
2.The Inspector of Police,
Puthukadai Police Station,
Kanyakumari District.
3.The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tirunelveli.
Order made in W.P.(MD)No.6608 of 2019 20.03.2019 http://www.judis.nic.in