Underlining the “paramount” duty of the forest department to ensure ecological balance and protect it from human activity, the Madras High Court recently refused to allow a plea seeking the use of cooking utensils, fuel, and other combustible materials in a reserve forest area in Tamil Nadu for a temple festival. The court said the relief could not be claimed as “a matter of right”.
Justice C Saravanan was hearing a plea filed by a man who claimed that a high court order was not followed by the forest department, as they did not allow him to conduct Annadhanam (sacred Hindu tradition of donating food to the hungry, the needy, and pilgrims) at the end of a temple festival when the permission to conduct the festival was obtained from the forest department and the high Court.
“The forest authorities are the best judges of the ecology and safety requirements of the area and are, therefore, competent to determine whether inflammable materials or articles capable of causing environmental degradation can be permitted to pass through the reserve forest during the temple festival,” the June 29 order read.
Justice C Saravanan held that that the Forest Department was not at fault for denying permission to carry fuel, provisions, stoves and other cooking materials through the reserve forest.
The man had filed a writ petition on March 26 seeking directions to the authorities concerned to grant permission to conduct Chithra Pournami Vizha festival from April 22, 2026, to May 1, 2026, for ten days, to celebrate the festival in Sri Senbaga Devi Temple, which was situated in Courtallam Hill in Tenkasi District.
On April 24, the high court passed an order observing that the forest department had granted permission for conducting the festival subject to certain timing restrictions and other conditions like “devotees have been prohibited from taking a dip in the falls on the grounds that the water source is presently used as a drinking water source for the area.”
Food donation
The man alleged that there had been a wilful not followed the order passed by the high court on April 24. It was contended by the man that the forest department did not permit him to conduct Annadhanam during the last four days of the ten-day Chitra Pournami Festival.
The man stated that the conduct of the forest department was an intentional attempt to defy the order passed by the high court. It was contended that it was “impossible for the devotees to cook” in the place that was designated by the forest department and that they would, in a “very safe manner,” make arrangements and take safety measures so that a proper kitchen could be maintained in the temple premises.
The temple and the devotees also undertook to follow all other needs that may be required on behalf of the forest department, which included not generating any solid waste, more specifically, the complete non-use of any single-use plastic.
Upon these allegations, the court passed an order on June 1, asking the forest department to consider the issue and come up with a report about what were the conditions they wanted to impose and whether cooking could be permitted in the premises, and if so, what safety measures they wanted to avoid fire.
‘Best judges’
It was noted by the court “merely because the alternative suggested by the forest department was not acceptable to the petitioner,” it could not be argued that the forest department had violated the directions of this court.
The court stated that the man could not claim, as a matter of right, “the permission to carry cooking utensils, fuel, stoves, provisions and other combustible materials through the reserve forest to the vicinity of the Senbaga Devi Falls or Arulmigu Sri Senbaga Devi Temple.”
The court observed that the passage to the temple was through a reserve forest, which was under the exclusive control and management of the forest department, and that the department was not at fault for declining permission to carry fuel, provisions, stoves, and other cooking materials through the reserve forest and that if Annadhanam was to be prepared, it shall necessarily be cooked either outside the reserve forest or at such place as may be specifically identified and permitted by the forest department.
Advocate R Parthiban, appearing for the forest department, submitted that the access to Arulmigu Sri Senbaga Devi Temple was through a reserve forest, which was also a part of an elephant corridor. It was urged by the counsel that the area was ecologically sensitive and was home to several endangered species of flora and fauna. Therefore, permitting cooking activities in the vicinity of the temple would pose a serious threat to the fragile ecosystem and the wildlife living in the area.
Advocate S Manoj Kumar, representing the man and the temple, argued that it was “practically impossible” to prepare Annadhanam at the foothills and transport the cooked food to the temple for distribution to the devotees during the annual temple festival, as well as during the monthly festival held on every full moon day. It was contended by the counsel that the temple was primarily concerned with the conduct of the religious rituals and festivals and had no role in the issues arising from devotees carrying food articles into the reserve forest, which has invited objections from the forest department.
It was further submitted that the temple festival had been conducted from “time immemorial” and must be permitted to continue in the customary manner.
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