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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 23-10-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN AND THE HON'BLE DR.JUSTICE P.MURUGAN WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026 CNR:{HCMD011530292026}

and WMP(MD)No.23296 of 2026 Periyanambi Narasimha Gopalan S/o.(Late) Periyanambi Srinivasachariyar, No.1/7, Sannathi Street, Mannarkovil Village, Ambasamudram Taluk, Tirunelveli District.

..Petitioner Vs.

1. The Secretary to Government Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Secretariat, Chennai - 600 009.

2. The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board, No.119, Uttamar Gandhi Salai, Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600 014.

..Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this court to issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to pay the salaries to Archakas and all other temple employees throughout the State of Tamil Nadu, as per the minimum wages act and on par with Government servants, irrespective of the income of the individual temples, in the light of the Direction No.51 issued by the Honble Division Bench of this Court in Suo Motu W.P. No.574 of 2015 and W.P(MD)No.24178 of 2018, dated 07-06-2021, within the time fixed by this Court.

For Petitioner: Mr.K.Subbu Ranga Bharathi For Respondents: Mr.A.Sivasubramanian, Additional Government Pleader

ORDER

Temples are an inseparable part of our cultural and social life.

There is a presumption that the temples in South India are public temples. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, most of them, if not all, have been brought under the purview of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.

2. The temple staff come under two categories : indoor and outdoor. The statute envisages a trust board for each of the temples. The Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act, 1959 has put in place an elaborate bureaucratic arrangement to ensure that the temples are properly administered and the temple properties are not frittered away. The department itself is headed by a Senior I.A.S Officer. He is known as the Commissioner. The temples are classified based on their income. If necessary, Executive Officers in the rank of Joint Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner/Grade I etc., are appointed for the temples. They are government servants and paid as such. But the temple staff are paid out of the income generated by the particular temple. This leads to an invidious situation. If a particular temple is bereft of properties and is not able to generate sufficient income, its staff are paid a pittance. In some cases, the monthly pay of the cook is as low as Rs.400/-. One can imagine the pay drawn by other staff such as sweepers and gardeners.

3. When the Hon’ble Division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Their Lordships Mr.Justice R.Mahadevan (As His Lordship Then Was) and Mr.Justice P.D.Audikesavalu initiated suo motu action with regard to temple managements, they paid particular attention to the salary drawn by the staff. Vide order dated 07.06.2021 in Suo Motu WP No.574 of 2015 and WP(MD)No.24178 of 2018, the following direction was passed :

“(51) The salary and other service and retirement benefits of all the staff of the temple including that of the archakas and oduvars must be fixed as per the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act and on par with the Government servant.

(52) The terminal benefits of the retired staff in the temples under the HR&CE Act must be settled within 30 days from the date of their retirement. A list of cases where terminal benefits have not been settled must be filed before this court within a period of eight (8) weeks.”

Aggrieved by the aforesaid direction, Rev A(W) Nos.169 and 170 of 2021 were filed. The review applications were disposed of on

02.06.2023. The relevant portion reads as follows :

“17.In respect of the direction no.51, this court is of the view that the same is not contrary to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious Ins