A division bench of Hyderabad High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice K. Vijaya Lakshmi on Wednesday asked the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) not to take any further steps like removal from service against such of the employees who are allegedly non-Hindus and who have received show-cause notices till Wednesday. They may be engaged outside the temples the bench commented.
The bench was dealing with a case filed by Saleem Bhasha and 35 others. They challenged the constitutional validity of rule which prohibits non-Hindus being engaged in the TTD.
They told the court that they had been working in the TTD in the roles of nurses, gardeners etc., without any complaint for decades and now they are sought to be removed.
The bench expressed dismay at the tone and contents of notices issued by the TTD. The bench reminded that TTD is running various institutions like hospitals and educational institutions.
The bench said that the petitioners did not suppress the fact that they are non-Hindus. The then officers still appointed them. Let the officers, who appointed, be proceeded against first and then initiate action against the present petitioners.
Non-Hindus are permitted to enter the temple, the bench reminded. Now at this stage these persons cannot be thrown out like this, the bench added. The TTD requested time to place the relevant information by Monday. The case will be listed on Monday.
