HC revokes order banning woman priest

In a far-reaching order, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Friday revoked an order of a tahsildar banning a woman from officiating as a priest in a village temple in Nallathevanpatti near Usilampatti in Madurai district. Pinniammal, daughter of Pinnathevar, in a petition said her father, who was a priest of the Durgai Amman temple in Nallathevanpatti, passed away in 2004. While he was alive, the petitioner had been assisting him in temple rituals. She was the heiress of her father and continued to serve as the priestess of the temple. But, she was being prevented from doing so by Vasudevan, a villager. She had approached a civil court in Usilampatti against this interference. At a peace committee meeting held in the presence of the tahsildar, it was decided that a man from Poothur would be appointed priest in her place. She sought a court order declaring this action invalid. Justice K Chandru in his order noted that the tahsildar had accepted that the petitioner and her forefathers were performing the rituals in the temple. The tahsildar had claimed that it was not proper for a woman to serve as a priest and appointed a man. This was against the law, Justice Chandru held. The law and agamas did not prevent women from officiating as priests, the judge said. In any case, this temple was not bound by agama rules, and there should be no discrimination, he said. As the Civil Court had not given its ruling, the judge revoked the action of the tahsildar.

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