No Harm In Offering Namaz For 30 Minutes: Madras High Court Refuses To Stay Namaz Prayers Near Temple On Tiruparankundram Hill

The Madras High Court has refused to ban the offering of Namaz in a Nellithopu (pathway) towards the Kasi Viswanthar Temple situated at Thirupparankundram in Madurai District.A bench of Justice R Subramanian and Justice L Victoria Gowri refused to grant an interim stay on the offering of prayers at Nellithopu and asked the Hindu Religious & Charitable endowment to file their counters to the petition by four weeks. The court also remarked that there was no harm in offering Namaz for 30 minutes and that it would not affect any person. The petition was filed by the State Organisation Secretary of Aghila Bharatha Hanuman Sena, Ramalingam. In his petition Ramalingam submitted that devotees who went to pray at the Kasi Viswanathar Temple, situated at the top of Thirupparakundram used to take rest and have their food in the Nellithoppu place. He submitted that while so, the Jamath Members of Sikkandar Badhusha Dharga started offering Namaz at the said Nellithoppu place. He further submitted that the Jamath members usually offered their prayers at the Pallivasal (Mosque) and that this type of incident has never happened before. He further submitted that the Sikkandar Badhusha Dharga is also situated at the Thirupparakundram mountain and there were other vacant lands available for offering prayers nearby. Ramalingam submitted that by offering Namaz at the Nellithopu, the Jamath members were causing nuisance and hindrance to the public and that after offering Namaz, the members polluted the pathway with food waste and plastic waste etc. It was also submitted that the Jamath members were claiming that the Thirupparakundram Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Thirukoil Mountain was known as “Sikkandar Mountain” and thus they were trying to encroach into the land and cause law and order problem. The court was however not inclined to grant the interim injunction and adjourned the plea. Case Title: AP Ramalingam v The Secretary to Government and othersCitation: 2023 LiveLaw (Mad) 177 Case No: WP (MD) 15565 of 2023

No Harm In Offering Namaz For 30 Minutes: Madras High Court Refuses To Stay Namaz Prayers Near Temple On Tiruparankundram Hill

Upasana Sajeev

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