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2024 Supreme(Online)(MAD) 359
HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
Hon`ble Mr.Justice B.PUGALENDHI
Kannan.K – Appellant
Versus
The Superintendent of Police – Respondent
WP(MD)No.12346 of 2024
Mr.C.Uthayakumar, Mr.T.Senthil Kumar
The court has the power to grant permission for cultural programs, such as adal padal, while ensuring that they are conducted without obscenity or vulgarity, and without compromising law and order.
Headnote:
Temple Festival - Adal Padal Programme - Sections 144, 151 of CrPC - The court allowed the adal padal programme during the temple festival, subject to the organizers providing an undertaking to ensure that the program is conducted without any obscenity or vulgarity, and the police imposing necessary conditions to maintain law and order.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a member of the festival committee, sought permission to conduct an adal padal program as part of a temple festival. The police denied permission citing law and order issues. The petitioner challenged the denial in a writ petition.
Finding of the Court:
The court acknowledged that adal padal programs have become common in temple festivals, but they can promote obscenity and vulgarity, which should not be allowed. However, the court had previously granted permission for such programs with conditions. The court set aside the impugned order and directed the police to grant permission, subject to the organizers providing an undertaking and the police imposing necessary conditions.
Issues: Whether the police can deny permission for the adal padal program during the temple festival on the grounds of law and order issues.
Ratio Decidendi: The court balanced the cultural significance of the adal padal program with the need to prevent obscenity and vulgarity. It allowed the program with strict conditions to maintain law and order.
Final Decision: The court set aside the police order denying permission and directed the police to grant permission for the adal padal program, subject to the organizers providing an undertaking and the police imposing necessary conditions.
The petitioner is the Member of the festival committee for conducting festival in Arulmigu Shree Kaliamman Thirukovil at Venkadachalapuram Village, Sattur Taluk, Virudhunagar District. As a part of the temple festival, they are intending to conduct adal padal programme for which, permission was denied by the respondent Police by the order impugned in this writ petition on the ground of law and order issue. Challenging the same this writ petition is filed.
2.The learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that this Court has granted permission for adal padal programme and he has relied on several judgments including a Division Bench Judgment and prayed for setting aside the impugned order with a direction to the respondent police to grant permission to conduct adal padal programme during the temple festival. They are ready to conduct the programmes with the conditions to be imposed by the Court.
3.The learned Additional Public Prosecutor has raised serious objections that this adal padal programmes are conducted with obscenity and it promotes vulgarity. Therefore disputes arise among the organisers, villagers and the public leading to registration of several criminal cases. Several such incidents had occurred during such adal padal programmes. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor further submits that though the permission is granted with certain conditions, the conditions are not scrupulously followed.
Therefore, it is very difficult to implement the conditions with the available limited force. He pointed out that except permission for adal padal programme, they have granted permission for temple festival and also for police protection. Therefore apprehending law and order issue, the respondent police has denied permission for adal padal programme.
4.This Court considered the rival submissions made. 5.The adal padal programmes now became common in almost all the temple festivals and it appears to be a cultural development in this State. By playing film music, the men and women dance in the stage in colourful attire. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor on instructions submits that most of these songs played during this programme are in double meaning with obscene words and induces vulgarity and sexuality. Such objections of the learned Additional Public Prosecutor cannot be denied in toto.
6.Tamil Nadu is a State having rich heritage and tradition with several arts and culture. Every region is having unique art and culture. However, the youngsters are not interested in the traditional and age old culture and they are preferring film songs rather than the traditional arts. Dancing with obscenity is a prohibited one and it was earlier called as record dance, later on developed as cabaret dance and now such dance is performed in the village festivals in the name of adal padal.
7.The temple festivals are conducted by collecting tax from the residents of the particular area, irrespective of their willingness to make their contributions.
8.When cyclone Khaja has ravaged Tanjore and Pudukottai districts, a few youngsters formed a team (now called as KAIFA) and by using the collected public money meant for adal padal programme, they have de-silted a water body in their village and the ground water level in that area got recharged. On noticing this, several volunteers, other villagers and many organisations have come forward and also made their contributions. So far they have de-silted 200 water bodies in several districts.
9.These adal padal programmes are being watched by everyone irrespective of their age and gender, while so, there should not be any obscenity and it should not spoil, especially the young minds. The youngsters and the villagers have to realise the benefits reaped by the Pudukottai, Tanjore and Nagapattinam districts and they have to spend the money for constructive purposes.
The organisers of the festival committee have to lead the youngsters in the right direction like KAIFA. A few youngsters had spent the money
