After the recent judgement of the Supreme Court preventing religion from influencing electoral politics, Temples Protection Movement is hopeful that a strict ‘Secular’ interpretation will also be extended to the petition challenging the constitutionality of Government takeover of Hindu temples.

The case filed by Swami Dayananda Saraswati challenging the Government takeover of Hindu temples (WP 476 of 2012) is due for hearing on January 11.

The petition contended that the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Act, the Andhra Pradesh Act and the Pondicherry Act, would take away the internal autonomy of the religious institutions and denominations.

The Temples Protection Movement contended that the Constitutional mandate of not interfering with the religious institutions was totally breached so far as the Hindu temples and charitable institutions were concerned.

A consistent secular interpretation by the Apex Court, the TPM said, would remove the discrimination faced by the Hindu religious institutions under the controversial State Endowments Act. This would then automatically remove the necessity for religion to enter electoral politics in future, the TPM said in a release.