Incident of Christian priests entering Parthasarathy temple and praying; High Court dismisses petition, not a violation of tradition

KOCHI: The High Court has ruled that there was no violation of custom in the incident of Christian priests entering the Adoor Parthasarathy temple. The head of the Kadambanad diocese of the Orthodox Church, Dr. Zacharias Mar Aprem, and another pastor entered the temple with permission. The court's order rejected the petition challenging this. The petition was filed by Sanil Narayanan Namboothiri.

A bench of Justices A Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar dismissed the petition, pointing out that entry with the permission of the Tantri was not a violation of custom and that the pastors had come as guests of the temple. They were allowed to enter the temple as per their wish. Respecting guests is part of the temple culture. The Tantri has the final say in temple rituals; therefore, entry as a guest with his permission is different from the right to enter the temple. Such an entry does not violate any law, rule or temple custom, the court said.

Dr. Zacharias Mar Aprem arrived at the Parthasarathy temple to inaugurate the Shobhayatra on the occasion of Sri Krishna Jayanti on September 7, 2023. After this, he expressed his desire to enter the temple. He was allowed inside the temple after the temple advisory committee sought permission from the Tantri. The pastor who entered the temple prayed there as well. The petition questioned this.