Madras High Court Warns Against Religious Intolerance After Muslims Object To Conduct Of Hindu Festival

A bench comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court said religious festivals or processions of any community cannot be prohibited or objected in a locality solely based on who forms the majority in that area.

The bench made following remarks while hearing a petition over conduct of temple processions by villagers at V Kalathur in Perambalur district in Tamil Nadu objected to by local Muslims.

An affidavit of the third respondent, deputy superintendent of police, said that the three days temple festival was peacefully conducted till 2011, however from the year 2012 onwards muslims started objecting to some Hindu festivals terming them as sins.

The petitioner approached police, seeking protection for conducting temple festivals and processions, which was given with restrictions, reports The Economic Times.

While hearing the petition, the bench noted that "merely because one religious group is dominating in a particular locality, it cannot be a ground to prohibit from celebrating religious festivals or taking processions of other religious groups through those roads.”

"In this case, intolerance of a particular religious group is exhibited by objecting for the festivals which have been conducted for decades together and the procession through the streets and roads of the village are sought to be prohibited, stating that the area is dominated by Muslims and therefore, there cannot be any Hindu festival or procession through the locality," the judges noted.

“If the contention of the private respondent is to be accepted, then it would create a situation in which minority people cannot conduct any festival or procession in most of the areas in India," the bench said.

In a warning against such radicalization among some religious groups, the court said that there would be chaos, riots, religious fights, causing loss of lives and destruction of properties if the resistance exhibited by one religious group is reciprocated by the other religious groups.