The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court issued directives on Tuesday, instructing the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to restrict the entry of non-Hindus who do not believe in the religion at the Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy Devasthanam in Dindigul district. Justice S Srimathy’s order specified that boards indicating “non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple after the kodimaram” should be installed by the concerned departments. If a non-Hindu wishes to visit a specific deity in the temple, they must provide an undertaking expressing faith in the deity, a commitment to follow Hindu customs and practices, and an agreement to abide by temple customs. Entry can be granted based on such an undertaking, and the details should be recorded in the temple’s register.The court also emphasized the need to maintain the temple premises in accordance with the agamas, customs, and practices of the temple.
These directives were issued in response to a petition filed by D Senthilkumar from Adivaram, Palani, and an organizer of the Pazhani Hill Temple Devotee Organization. The petitioner highlighted instances of non-Hindus purchasing tickets at the winch station in Palani to reach the hilltop temple.