Chennai: In a huge victory to devotees, Madras High Court today decided to set aside an earlier order permitting the take over of Ayodhya Mandapam, a religious and cultural centre in Chennai, by the Tamilnadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment department.
While giving HR&CE department the liberty to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations against office-bearers of Sri Ram Samaj that was running the Mandapam, the Court has given Samaj full control of the facility till the inquiry is concluded,
A detailed order in this regard will be issued by the High Court tomorrow. The decision has been widely welcomed by devotees.
Located in West Mambalam area of the city, Ayodhya Mandapam is a devotional centre that regularly conducts religious discourses and other spiritual events. Recently, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department took over the centre citing a court order, amid strong protests from devotees.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by the BJP, forcing Chief Minister M K Stalin to issue a detailed reply, besides HR&CE Minister P K Sekarbabu.
‘Ayodhya Mandapam has never been a temple. It is a prayer hall. And, the government has no business to take over it. At a time when demands are being made to free even temples from the control of HR&CE department, the move to take over the Mandapam was strongly condemnable,’ said Ramamoorthy, a regular visitor.