Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board to get instructions from Agama Advisory Board on the proposed live telecast of the Maha Samprokshana in Lord Venkateswara’s temple on Tirumala.
The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice V. Ramasubramanian after hearing an interim application related to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition. The judges said the TTD can explore the possibility of live streaming Maha Samprokhana and rituals connected to it through the Devasthanam’s dedicated TV channel. Initially, the Chief Justice said there was no room for judicial review in matters related to purely religious.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that earlier Maha Samprokshana was aired by TV channels, though the TTD’s lawyer said it was not so. “People have apprehensions as to what was happening during Maha Samprokshana since TTD decided to carry it out as a closed door matter,” the counsel argued. He submitted to the Bench that devotees were allowed in 2006 during similar ritual. There were no restrictions on keeping it in public domain then, he said.
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Refuting the argument, the TTD’s lawyer categorically said the “question of telecasting the ritual doesn’t arise”. Judge V. Ramasubramanian sought to know if the entire Maha Samprokshana was not to be telecast or only the rituals carried out in sanctum sanctorum.
He said that normally rituals carried out inside sanctum sanctorum are not allowed for public view but there would be no restrictions on rituals outside it. The Chief Justice Radhakrishnan also said temples had their own reservations over making public the rituals of ‘presenting Naivedyam or offering Harati’. Naturally, persons or priests having expertise on temple practices or traditions would be the right persons to take a call on that. In TTD case, they can rely on the suggestions of Agama Advisory Board, the Judges said. The hearing was posted to Thursday.