Chennai: The Madras high court has upheld the Conditions for Appointment of Executive Officers Rules, 2015 (dealing with appointment of executive officers to the temples and his functions), framed by the Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments Department.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M. Sundar dismissed the Public Interest Litigation filed by M/s Temple Worshippers Society, which sought to declare the Conditions for Appointment of Executive Officers Rules, as ultra vires of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act and consequently quash the same.
“As we have rejected all the ground of challenge of the petitioner society, to the validity of the impugned Rules qua the said parent Act and therefore the question of testing the constitutional validity of impugned Rules, which are in the nature of subordinate legislation does not arise”, the bench said.
Noticing that the petitioner had earlier moved this court assailing the appointment of executive officers to several temples, the bench said one of the grounds of challenge in the petitions was that rules have to be necessarily prescribed for appointment of executive officers.
“Now that the Rules have been prescribed, the petitioner in one breadth would say that Rules have to be framed for appointment of Executive Officers and in another breadth would make a complete and sweeping challenge when the Rules were made. We say so, as the petitioner society had challenged seven rules of the ten impugned rules,” the bench added.
