A peace committee may facilitate temple disputes, but any settlement cannot bind the parties.

The petitioner sought a direction under Article 226 for the authorities to consider his representation and convene a peace committee meeting concerning the customary selection of a poosari for Arulmigu Nallathangal Kovil.

The temple land had been purchased for the temple, and the sale deed named the sixth respondent as headman/leader.

The petitioner alleged that the sixth respondent opposed the customary appointment and claimed ownership of the land.

The authorities stated that a meeting had previously been convened before the Tahsildar, but the petitioner had not attended, and that the dispute could give rise to a law-and-order issue.

Whether the Revenue Divisional Officer should convene a peace committee meeting to facilitate an amicable resolution of the dispute concerning the customary ceremonies and selection of a poosari.

Whether any settlement reached at such a meeting would bind the parties.

The petition invoked the High Court’s jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

The Court treated a peace committee meeting as a means by which the Revenue Divisional Officer could persuade the parties to reach an amicable settlement, not as a forum to determine their rights; any settlement would not bind them.

No specific statute or precedent was identified in the order.

Given that the Kumbabhishekam had taken place and further ceremonies were reportedly required under family custom, the Court considered a meeting among members of all five families, including the petitioner and the sixth respondent, appropriate to seek an amicable resolution.

However, because the sixth respondent disputed the petitioner’s position and claimed ownership of the land, the Court confined the authority’s role to facilitating settlement and clarified that any settlement would not bind the parties.

The parties remained free to arrive at an appropriate decision; no costs were ordered, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.