Madras HC sets aside single judge’s order on practice of rolling over used plantain leaves after annadhanam

Madras High Court. File
| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani

A Division Bench (comprising two judges) of the Madras High Court on Thursday (March 13, 2025) set aside a single judge’s order dated May 17, 2024, which had permitted a devotee of a saint to roll over the plantain leaves left behind by people after an annadhanam (donation of food).

Justices R. Suresh Kumar and G. Arul Murugan allowed a writ appeal filed by the Karur Collector against Justice G.R. Swaminathan’s verdict that the devotee had the fundamental right to perform angapradakshanam on the used banana leaves after the guests had partaken of the meal.

The Bench held that devotees could not be permitted to follow the practice of rolling over the plantain leaves until the Supreme Court decides a related case. It also said, the single judge ought not to have granted permission when another Division Bench led by Justice S. Manikumar (since retired) had ruled against the practice in 2015.

The Division Bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar had reserved the verdict in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on July 30, 2024, but delivered it at its principal seat in Chennai, since both judges had thereafter returned to the principal seat after the completion of their three-month tenure in Madurai.

What is the plea about?

The issue relates to a writ petition filed by P. Naveen Kumar in the Madurai Bench last year seeking a direction to the Collector to grant permission to him to offer annadhanam and perform angapradakshanam over the plantain leaves used for consuming food.

The petitioner had intended to perform the angapradkahsnam ritual on May 18, 2024 — the Jeeva Samathi day of saint Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral, who had been buried alive at Nerur village in Manmangalam taluk of Karur district.

Justice Swaminathan had allowed the writ petition and held that the devotee need not seek anyone’s permission for performing the ritual since Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of conscience and freely profess and practise religion.

“As regards the question of human dignity, I can only remark that in religious matters, it is not open to third parties, except in exceptional circumstances, to make peremptory declaration as to what is dignified and what is not,” the singe judge had said.

‘HC had ruled against practice’

However, in his grounds of appeal, the Collector recalled that a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and S. Velumani (both retired now) had in 2015 directed the Karur district administration not to allow anyone to roll over used plantain leaves after annadhanam.

That order was passed in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition and it had attained finality on not being challeged by anyone before the Supreme Court. Therefore, the single judge ought not to have allowed Mr. Naveen Kumar’s writ petition, the Collector argued.

“When a Division Bench had given a judgement in consensus, a single judge cannot overrule the same or nullify the order,” the Collector had said and brought to the notice of the court that the anagapradakshanam takes place on a public road and not inside the saint’s tomb in Nerur.

Apart from the Collector, an individual named V. Aranganathan too had filed a writ appeal against Justice Swaminathan’s order, and a couple of others had filed impleading petitions in support of the single judge’s order.