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The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras Vs. Shri Lakshmindar Tirtha Swamiyar of Shri Shirur Mutt.

The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras Vs. Shri Lakshmindar Tirtha Swamiyar of Shri Shirur Mutt.

DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 16/04/1954

COURT: Supreme Court of India

JUDGES: Mahajan, Mehar Chand (Cj), Mukherjea, B.K., Das, Sudhi Ranjan, Bose, Vivian, Hasan, Ghulam & Bhagwati, N.H. & Aiyyar, T.L. Venkatarama

REFERENCE: 1954 AIR 282

PARTIES:

Petitioner: The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras

Respondents: Shri Lakshmindar Tirtha Swamiyar of Shri Shirur Mutt

SUBJECT:

The trial of Essential Religious Practices was first laid forward by the Supreme Court in 1954 in the Shirur Mutt case. A seven Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that what establishes the essential practice of a religion is essentially to be found out using the reference of the teachings of that religion itself.

The Court went to the degree of expressing that a religious group or association enjoys total self-governance in choosing what rituals and functions are fundamental as per the principles of the religion they hold and no outside power has any purview to meddle with their choice in such issues.

FACTS:
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS:
ISSUES:

1) Whether the Paryaya system, the practices carried by the temple is an essential practice and whether this practice falls under the ambit of freedom of religion?

JUDGEMENT:
Conclusion:

An essential practice should be essentially religious in practice. It should be essentially religious in nature. If it is essentially religious in nature the state does not have any authority to comment on it or to regulate it, except, where there are religious rituals where there are aspects of self harm. But as long as it does not exceed certain limits and actually involve human sacrifice the state cannot interfere.

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