Periyanambi Narasimha Gopalan vs The Secretary to Government
- Court
- Madras High Court
WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 23-10-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN
AND
THE HON'BLE DR.JUSTICE P.MURUGAN
WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026
CNR:{HCMD011530292026}
and
WMP(MD)No.23296 of 2026
Periyanambi Narasimha Gopalan
S/o.(Late) Periyanambi Srinivasachariyar,
No.1/7, Sannathi Street,
Mannarkovil Village,
Ambasamudram Taluk,
Tirunelveli District.
..Petitioner
Vs.
1. The Secretary to Government
Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments
Department, Government of Tamil Nadu,
Secretariat, Chennai - 600 009.
2. The Commissioner,
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
Board, No.119, Uttamar Gandhi Salai,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai - 600 014.
..Respondents
PRAYER: Writ Petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, praying this court to issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the
respondents to pay the salaries to Archakas and all other temple
employees throughout the State of Tamil Nadu, as per the minimum
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wages act and on par with Government servants, irrespective of the
income of the individual temples, in the light of the Direction No.51
issued by the Honble Division Bench of this Court in Suo Motu W.P.
No.574 of 2015 and W.P(MD)No.24178 of 2018, dated 07-06-2021,
within the time fixed by this Court.
For Petitioner: Mr.K.Subbu Ranga Bharathi
For Respondents: Mr.A.Sivasubramanian,
Additional Government Pleader
ORDER
Temples are an inseparable part of our cultural and social life.
There is a presumption that the temples in South India are public temples.
As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, most of them, if not all, have been
brought under the purview of the Hindu Religious and Charitable
Endowments Department.
2. The temple staff come under two categories : indoor and
outdoor. The statute envisages a trust board for each of the temples. The
Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act, 1959 has put in place an elaborate bureaucratic
arrangement to ensure that the temples are properly administered and the
temple properties are not frittered away. The department itself is headed
by a Senior I.A.S Officer. He is known as the Commissioner. The
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temples are classified based on their income. If necessary, Executive
Officers in the rank of Joint Commissioner/Deputy
Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner/Grade I etc., are appointed for
the temples. They are government servants and paid as such. But the
temple staff are paid out of the income generated by the particular temple.
This leads to an invidious situation. If a particular temple is bereft of
properties and is not able to generate sufficient income, its staff are paid a
pittance. In some cases, the monthly pay of the cook is as low as
Rs.400/-. One can imagine the pay drawn by other staff such as sweepers
and gardeners.
3. When the Hon’ble Division Bench of the Madras High Court
comprising Their Lordships Mr.Justice R.Mahadevan (As His Lordship
Then Was) and Mr.Justice P.D.Audikesavalu initiated suo motu action
with regard to temple managements, they paid particular attention to the
salary drawn by the staff. Vide order dated 07.06.2021 in Suo Motu WP
No.574 of 2015 and WP(MD)No.24178 of 2018, the following direction
was passed :
“(51) The salary and other service and retirement
benefits of all the staff of the temple including that of the
archakas and oduvars must be fixed as per the provisions of the
Minimum Wages Act and on par with the Government servant.
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(52) The terminal benefits of the retired staff in the
temples under the HR&CE Act must be settled within 30 days
from the date of their retirement. A list of cases where terminal
benefits have not been settled must be filed before this court
within a period of eight (8) weeks.”
Aggrieved by the aforesaid direction, Rev A(W) Nos.169 and 170 of
2021 were filed. The review applications were disposed of on
02.06.2023. The relevant portion reads as follows :
“17.In respect of the direction no.51, this court is of the view
that the same is not contrary to the Tamil Nadu Hindu
Religious Institutions Employees (Condition of Service)
Rules, 2020 and hence, the minimum wages Act is
applicable to employees of the temples also. The State is
under constitutional obligation, to ensure a decent living for
all the workers and their families. Right of life includes right
to livelihood. Article 7 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966, speaks about
fair wages and equal remuneration for all workers for work
of equal value. Therefore, the State is bound to comply with
the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act in respect of the
temple employees. The Minimum Wages Act and the
notifications issued by the State are targeted towards
guaranteeing a minimum standard of life, to all section of
workers, skilled and un-skilled. It is pertinent to mention
here that the employees of the Department are indisputably
discharging public functions and are “public servants” under
section 12. Just because the scheme of administration of the
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temple contemplates payment from the income of the temple,
the minimum wages cannot be denied. There are certain
ways to generate income for paying salary to the temple
staff, such as, the ceiling on the expenses fixed by the State
can be increased, the surplus funds of other temples and the
funds from the common good fund can be utilised,
unnecessary expenses at the cost of the temples have to be
cut down, and the State, if necessary, should also contribute
for the same. Thus, this issue is clarified accordingly.”
Even though these orders were passed more than three years ago, till date,
they have not been enforced. We posed a specific question to the
respondents if the aforesaid orders have been stayed or set aside. The
answer is in the negative. When admittedly a judicial order is holding the
field, it is the duty of the authorities to enforce the same. If they fail to
do so, a fresh writ petition is certainly maintainable.
4. The Hon’ble Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay in
Foundever CRM India Pvt. India Ltd., v. Employees’ State Insurance
Corporations and ors (WP(L) No.36732 of 2025) held that a second writ
petition seeking enforcement of an earlier writ order is maintainable in
light of the comprehensive phraseology of Article 226 of the Constitution
of India. Also, the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in Bibekananda
Mondal v. State of West Bengal (2003) 1 WBLR (Cal) 213 took the
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same view. The Hon’ble Orissa High Court too in Indrapuri Studio Pvt.
Ltd v. West Bengal State Warehousing Corporation (WP No.1922 of
1998) endorsed the view taken in Bibekananda Mondal.
5. Article 226 of the Constitution of India empowers the High
Court reach injustice wherever it is found and redress the situation. Our
conscience is shocked that thousands of temple staff are paid atrociously
poor pay. The amount paid to them would be hardly sufficient to keep
the body and soul together. We may remark that the lowest National
Floor Level Minimum Wage is Rs.176/- per day. What is drawn by many
temple staff in Tamil Nadu is lower than that. That is why, the Hon’ble
Division Bench in the aforesaid suo motu writ petition gave a positive
direction. Since it has not been complied with, we are constrained to step
in to reiterate the said directions.
6. The HR&CE Department which has supervisory jurisdiction
over the temples cannot plead lack of resources. There are several ways
to raise funds. Devotees must be motivated to form groups. Each group
must be in charge of a particular temple. They must be tasked with
ensuring that the staff are paid a decent salary. Since the issue has
financial implications, we will not be justified in directing payment of
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statutory minimum wage. But certainly a decent wage must be given.
Article 43 of the Constitution of India talks of payment of living wage.
In a different context, the Hon’ble Supreme Court observed that where a
person provides labour or service to another for remuneration which is
less than the minimum wage, the labour or service provided by him falls
within the scope and ambit of the words “forced labour” under Article 23.
Such a person would be entitled to come to the court for enforcement of
his fundamental right under Article 23 by asking the court to direct
payment of the minimum wage to him so that the labour or service
provided by him ceases to be “forced labour” and the breach of Article 23
is remedied (vide People’s Union for Democratic and ors v. UOI (AIR
1982 SC 1473 ). Most of the temple staff are living in such conditions
that they cannot form an union and voice their grievances aloud. That is
why, the petitioner herein has taken up their cause and brought it to our
notice. We are conscisous that the petitioner herein had earlier filed a
writ petition and the same was allowed. But it was stayed in
WA(MD)No.1180 of 2023 dated 27.07.2023. It is an interim order
staying the operation of a single Judge’s order. But in the case on hand,
the petitioner prays for enforcement of the order made in the suo motu
writ petition. Hence, the pendency of WA(MD)No.1180 of 2023 nor the
grant of interim order therein can come in the way.
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7. Linking the pay of a person with the income drawn by the
concerned religious institution breaches his fundamental right under
Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 21 is all about one’s life
and liberty. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has clarified in many a case that
existence cannot mean animal existence. Payment of a sum that is far far
below the living wage certainly attracts the fierce stare of Article 23 of
the Constitution of India. The only way the situation can be remedied is
by suitably remunerating the staff concerned. We cannot lay down a
straitjacket formula. There could be temples where the priest offers his
services only for an hour or two. It is called as “Murai System”. There
could be temples where a person is all-in-one. He is the priest, he is the
cook, he is the sweeper as well as the gate-keeper. Thus, on a case to
case basis, a system has to be evolved. This is the paramount duty of the
HR&CE Department. It is unfortunate that till date, they have not
bothered to lift their little finger to ameliorate the pitiable conditions of
the temple staff. All of us trace our roots to some village. If a serious
exercise is undertaken, it is certainly possible to form patronage groups
for every temple. India boasts of a huge bureaucracy. The services of
the staff of the HR&CE department can be enlisted and harnessed for this
purpose. There are several well known industrialists. For instance,
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Sridhar Vembu of Zoho comes to our mind. His father was a court staff.
His is an inspiring story of success. Such persons can be associated and
called upon to come out with appropriate revenue modules. There is
something called temple economics. It is time to embrace technology.
The social media can be deployed effectively to mobilise support for this
noble cause. We expect the HR&CE Commissioner to take immediate
steps in this regard. It is he who must bell the cat. When binding
judicial direction is there to ensure payment of fair wage to the temple
staff, the Department and its officials cannot be permitted to keep quiet.
8. This writ petition stands allowed with a direction to the
respondents to ensure that living wage is paid to each of the staff working
in the public temples coming under the purview of the Tamil Nadu
HR&CE Department. We grant two months’ time to the Commissioner
of HR&CE to submit an Action-Taken Report. No costs. Connected
miscellaneous petition is closed.
(G.R.S.,J.) & (P.M.N.,J.)
23-10-2026
Index: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-speaking order
Neutral Citation: Yes/No
SKM
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WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026
To
1. The Secretary to Government
Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments Department,
Government of Tamil Nadu,
Secretariat, Chennai - 600 009.
2. The Commissioner,
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Board,
No.119, Uttamar Gandhi Salai,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai - 600 014.
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WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026
G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.
AND
DR.P.MURUGAN, J.
SKM
WP(MD) No. 30465 of 2026
23-10-2026
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