New Delhi

“Declare hereditary archakatvam integral part of religion”

New Delhi: The Telangana Archaka Samakhya has urged the Supreme Court to declare archakatvam (service in temple) an integral part of religion under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution (right to freedom of religion).

Though this review petition and connected pleas were listed for hearing before a three-judge Bench on Wednesday, it could not be taken up as there was no sitting of a three-judge Bench. Consequently the matter stood adjourned.

According to the petitioner M.V. Soundara Rajan, president of the Samakhya, the apex court, while upholding the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act of 1987, dealt a death blow to customs, service and sampradayams of the temple saying “hereditary archakatvam is not an essential and integral part of religion.”

Subsequently the State government amended the provisions. “But amending legislation is a political decision and another political decision by any succeeding government may reverse the same and put the clock back.”

The freedom to practice religion was at stake due to the closure of a number of temples, the petition said.

“The continuance of hereditary archaka system itself has been left to the discretion of competent authority to continue the right to archakatvam without any right to emoluments such families used to receive earlier.

It is therefore imperative that the apex court reviews its judgment and pronounce that hereditary archakatvam is an essential and integral part of religion and protected under Articles 25 and 26.”

The Andhra Pradesh government submitted that no retrenchment of religious office-holders had taken place after the commencement of the 1987 Act.

“Though a provision exists to transfer religious employees from one institution to another belonging to the same sampradaya, agama, it was sparingly used.

Priority was given in appointments in religious offices to all those qualified members of the erstwhile hereditary archaka families as per the commitment given to the apex court.”

Explaining the series of steps taken, including the amendments made to the legislation, the reply said that “thus no threat of retrenchment at any point of time to any of the religious servant was created by the department as alleged by the petitioners.”

It sought disposal of the review petitions.

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