: Madras High Court bench today directed the Sivaganga District Collector and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment oard to file a counter on a petition seeking permission to conduct the Kandadevi temple festival with car procession this year.
Petitioner Sornalingam Ambalam from Kandadevi said the Sri Siragilinathar Swamy temple was administrated by Sivagangai Samasthanam's devasthanam and the Nattars and there were previous issues between certain communities on the customary right of pulling the temple car.
When the issue was taken to the Court, it directed that all people, irrespective of caste or creed, take part in it.
The festival was not held in 1998, 2000 and 2001 fearing law and order problem. During 2002,and from 2004 to 2006, it was conducted with active participation of all people.
Thereafter, renovation work was started for Kumbabishekam and no festival was conducted till 2012, he said.
From 2012, authorities had not made arrangements for car festival on the plea that the car was not in good condition and needed renovation. So the festival was not held last year.
He made a representation to the authorities to repair the car and conduct the festival.The HR and CE replied that the temple car has to be newly constructed and those entrusted to build it had failed to do so. Hence they are searching for another person to build a new car.
The petitioner said the temple car was in good condition but the authorities were not granting permission to conduct the car procession to the reasons best known to them. Hence he sought a Court direction to conduct the festival with the main car procession during the Aani Tamil month, this year.
Justices V Ramasubramanian and V M Velumani directed the Sivagangai District Collector and the HR&CE to file a counter in this regard.
