HC asks Tirupati temple body not to sack non-Hindu staff till further orders

The Hyderabad High Court has directed the executive officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the famous Tirumala Venkateswara temple, not to terminate the services of its non-Hindu employees till further orders.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice K Vijaya Lakshmi was hearing petitions filed by some of these employees yesterday, challenging the show cause notices issued to them by the administration.
The TTD recently issued notices to 42 non-Hindu employees, following allegations that they were 'propagating' other religions.
Y Balaji, the TTD counsel, said the temple authorities had received several representations from the Hindu devotees, saying that people from other religions, while working for the TTD, were "propagating" other religions, and they should be removed.

Following these representations, the TTD decided to terminate the services of the non-Hindu employees and issued them show cause notices (as to why their services should not be terminated), he said.
"Yesterday the high court stayed the termination...but the petitioners have been asked (by the court) to respond to the show cause notices," the lawyer told reporters.
The TTD lawyer also submitted before the court that the petitioners, when they were hired, had given an undertaking that they would not propagate other religions, he said.
The hearing has been adjourned to the next week.