Appointment of child priests is an age-old Badaga custom and halting it will cause unrest, HR&CE Department tells High Court

Judges want to know how the child will be educated inside the temple and how examinations will be held.

A Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department told the Madras High Court that the practice of appointing minor boys as priests is an age-old custom practised by the Badaga community at Shree Hethai Amman temple at Pedala Naduhatty village in the Nilgiris.

In a status report filed before the first Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu, the Joint Commissioner R. Senthil Velavan said any attempt to change the unique religious practice might create unrest and lead to law and order problem in 19 villages that worship the deity.

The report was filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by a local resident D. Sivan claiming that a minor boy aged five years was appointed as a priest of the temple in 2019, and he was not being allowed to step outside for any reason and prohibited from meeting any female.