The Madras High Court recently comprising of a bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy observed while dismissing a plea seeking reopening of temples across Tamil Nadu observed that the right of citizens to practice religion is subservient to their right to life.
Facts of the case
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition was filed seeking reopening of temples across Tamil Nadu, which are restricted in their functioning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Court's observation and judgment
The Bench disposing of the plea, observing that the right to practice religion cannot take precedence over the right to life.
The bench said, "The right to practice religion is certainly subservient to right to life and when the right to life is threatened, the right to practice religion can take a backseat".
The Bench proceeded to emphasise that a court cannot interfere in such matters unless the court finds that the State's action is utterly arbitrary or completely without basis.
The Bench also observed that when the right to life is under a threat, the right to practice religion will have to take a backseat.
The bench also stated that the decision to close down temples/impose restrictions must have been taken after taking into account various factors and it must have obtained expert advice and thus, it was in its right to impose reasonable restrictions
The bench in an another matter, wherein the Petitioner sought resumption of the public transport system in some parts of the State, remarked,
The Court while disposing of that PIL said, "Such a matter would be left to the State to obtain relevant data and expert advise before imposing restrictions or easing them. There does not appear to be any arbitrary action on the part of the State for the Court to interfere in the matter ... baby steps have to be taken (to return to normalcy) and it is better to err on side of caution than to open up everything and be caught unaware as the country was when the second surge descended on us."
The Court made similar observations earlier this week on the issue of re-opening courts.
Copy of Judgment will be available as soon as possible
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