The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ruled that non-Hindus who wear religious markers of other faiths and do not affirm reverence for the deity concerned cannot be allowed into the premises of Agamic temples.
A Division Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and P Murugan passed the order while allowing a petition seeking enforcement of temple entry laws and observance of Agamic injunctions.
The ruling extends existing restrictions beyond the area around the temple flagstaff. Under an earlier framework, non-Hindus seeking to cross the flagstaff were required to affirm their faith in the deity and agree to follow temple customs.
The Bench has now said that the prescribed declaration of reverence must be made in the format specified by the temple concerned.
However, the order does not impose an unqualified ban on everyone wearing religious markers of another faith. It also does not expressly clarify whether non-Hindus who continue to wear such markers can enter after signing the required undertaking.
Court cites temple entry incidents
The judges referred to a video circulating on social media that purportedly showed people wearing skull caps entering the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai despite protests from devotees.
The Bench criticised temple staff for remaining “mute spectators” during the incident.
The order also referred to the entry of Madurai Central MLA Badrudeen Mustafa into the Meenakshi temple after the election. According to the court, Mustafa claimed a right to inspect the temple’s amenities and went up its towers during the Kumbabishekam ceremony.
The judges also cited an incident involving a Christian minister who entered the Tiruchendur temple without providing the required undertaking.
In contrast, the Bench referred to Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, who, despite being Christian by faith, worshipped at the Meenakshi temple after signing an undertaking.
The judges said Vijay was not asked to convert to Hinduism but only to affirm reverence for the deity, describing the approach as “inclusive”.
Earlier rulings on non-Hindu entry
The Bench referred to the Madras High Court’s 1972 ruling in Kalyan Dass v State of Tamil Nadu, which struck down a rule concerning the admission of non-Hindus into temple premises.
It also cited the 2024 ruling in D Senthilkumar v Government of Tamil Nadu. That judgment had held that non-Hindus who did not believe in Hinduism should not be allowed beyond the flagstaff, while permitting entry if they undertook to respect the deity and follow temple customs.
The latest order extends the restrictions to the wider premises of Agamic temples for non-Hindus who wear religious markers of other faiths and do not affirm reverence for the deity.
Ruling limited to Agamic temples
The Bench clarified that its ruling was confined to Agamic temples. It noted that some places of worship, including the Ayyappa and Shirdi Sai Baba temples, attract devotees from different religious backgrounds.
The judgment therefore does not establish a blanket rule covering every place of worship, but sets out conditions for entry into the category of temples addressed by the court.
