Has to be an occasion for communal amity, says Madras High Court

Madurai: ‘Vinayagar Chathurthi’ festival should be an occasion for unity in the community and it should not be used to divide the people, observed the Madurai bench of the Madras High court on Wednesday.

A division bench comprising Justices K.K. Sasidharan and G.R. Swaminathan made this observation while hearing two writ petitions seeking to issue direction to the police for conducting ‘Ganesh Chathurthi’ festival.

On the petition filed by R Kannan, south zone secretary of Bharath Sena organisation, Madurai, seeking permission to install temporary Ganesha idols in three places and taking out processions in Villapuram area between August 25 and August 27, the Judges directed the police to grant permission and also to give protection for the festival. The police raised objections to the ‘Ganesh Chathurthi’ procession stating that it would create law and order problem because members of Muslim community live in that area. 

The public prosecutor Mohammed Mydeen, who appeared for the police, informed the court that ‘some intruders’ from Chola Alagapuram area who participated in the procession last year, had thrown a garland on the Mosque, and thereby hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community. Few Muslims from Villapuram who appeared before the judges in this case, had communicated this information to the PP. 

After the advocate R Pon Karthikeyan, appearing for the petitioner, gave an undertaking that they would not allow people from that area to participate in the procession, Justice Swaminathan asked the police to prevent those intruders from entering the procession.

Earlier Justice Swaminathan also observed that, “in a secular country you can’t divide the streets as Hindus and Muslims and deny permission for taking deity on a procession.” 

The court dismissed another petition filed by A. Gowri, a Dalit from Arasanur village, Sivaganga, because members of Dalit community and intermediate caste group have not yet arrived at an amicable solution to conduct ‘Ganesh Chathurthi’ festival.

The police denied permission for the petitioner claiming that it would create caste violence in the village. The houses of the Dalits were damaged by caste Hindus last year, four days after they organised the festival. The Dalits were conducting the event for the last 17 years, claimed the petitioner.