The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Kerala government to a petition alleging that members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were illegally encroaching and conducting mass drills on the premises of Sree Rakthakanda Swamy Temple in Pathanamthitta [Baiju K R & Anr v State of Kerala & Ors].A division bench of Justices VG Arun and S Manu issued notice in the matter to the State.The petition was filed by two devotees alleging that RSS members were conducting activities like mass drills, erecting flags and flagstaff in the temple premises without any authority.According to the plea, RSS members have illegally encroached the temple premises to conduct such sakha activities on a daily basis from 5 pm to 12 am.The petitioners claimed that this has caused mental stress and agony to devotees and has also disturbed the peaceful and serene atmosphere of the temple by shouting slogans as a part of their mass drill.The petition highlighted that the temple fell under the administration of Travancore Devaswom Board, which had earlier issued circulars prohibiting the use of temple premises for such unauthorised acts. However, the directives in that regard have not been enforced effectively and the men continue to disrupt the sanctity of the temple.The petitioners had written to the Sub Group Officer of the temple (Respondent 4) and filed a complaint with the Pathanamthitta Station House Officer (SHO), but received no response yet.Advocate S Nikhil Sankar, representing the petitioners, cited an earlier judgment of the Kerala High Court wherein the court had clearly declared that "temple premises cannot be used for conducting mass drill or weaponry training by devotees or group of persons".The counsel informed the court that the temple festival, scheduled from April 21 to April 30, could face disturbances due to the illegal encroachment of the temple premises by RSS members.Therefore, to safeguard the devotees 'right to worship' under Article 21 of the Constitution, direction should be issued to the concerned authorities including the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure a peaceful and calm atmosphere at the temple and to prevent illegal use of temple premises by RSS.
TAGS: Kerala High Court RSS temple encroachment Pathanamthitta Travancore Devaswom Board
