"Why Only Brahmins as Priests?" Madhya Pradesh High Court Seeks State's Response

Bhopal (Uttam Hindu News): While hearing a PIL, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought a reply from the state government. The Madhya Pradesh High Court was hearing a PIL related to religious places run by the state government on Tuesday. The question raised in the petition is why only Brahmins are given the opportunity to be appointed as priests in these religious places. Why not all castes of Hindu religion.

A division bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain has issued notice to the state government and ordered to answer this question in four weeks. The petition filed by Scheduled Caste-Tribe Officer Employees Union (AJJAKS) challenges the constitutionality of the orders passed by the Department of Spirituality on 4 October 2018 and 4 February 2019 under the Madhya Pradesh Specified Temple Bill 2019. Senior advocates Rameshwar Singh Thakur and Pushpendra Shah, on behalf of the petitioner, argued before the court that under Section 46 of the Specified Temple Bill 2019, the government has notified more than 350 temples and other religious places in Schedule 1, which are under the control of the state. The order allows the appointment of a particular caste as a priest. There is a provision of fixed salary from the treasury for this. This provision is a violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the Constitution because Hindus include OBC / SC / ST categories. Therefore it is unfair to give preference to only one caste for the post of priest.

On behalf of the state government, Deputy Advocate General Abhijit Awasthi argued that the petitioner is an organization of employees, which has no legal right to file a petition. On this, the lawyer of the petitioners said that for centuries only Brahmins have been worshiping in temples. There has been no interference from the government. Since 2019, the state government has intervened in religious matters and made a law to appoint salary-based priests. The general public is not aware of this. After hearing the petition, the High Court has issued notices to the Chief Secretary of the State Government, Principal Secretary GAD, Ministry of Social Justice, Religious and Religious Affairs Ministry and Public Works Department and ordered them to file a reply within 4 weeks.