The Kerala High Court on Wednesday held that temple priesthood cannot be restricted to caste or lineage, and that such a restriction cannot be termed an essential religious practice, The News Minute reported.

A division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar was hearing a petition by the Akhila Kerala Thanthri Samajam challenging the accreditation and recognition of certain institutions as Thanthra Vidyalayas by the Travancore Devaswom Board and the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board, Live Law reported.

Thanthris are the chief priests and spiritual heads of Hindu temples in Kerala and are responsible for performing key rituals and setting the rules for daily temple functions.

The Akhila Kerala Thanthri Samajamis is a registered body of around 300 traditional Thanthri families.

Devaswom Boards in Kerala are autonomous government bodies that administer Hindu temples in the state.

The High Court, in its ruling, did not agree with the petitioner’s argument that the Devaswom boards lacked the expertise to accredit Thanthra Vidyalayas.

The petitioner’s had contended that only those who had trained under hereditary Thanthris were eligible to grant such accreditation. They argued that allowing Deveswom boards to give accreditation to training institutions for priests violated the freedom of religion under the Constitution.

The court, however, found no merit in the contention and dismissed the petition, The News Minute reported. “No factual or legal foundation has been established to justify such a claim in the present case,” the bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar said.

The court highlighted that the Devaswom boards had “established a rigorous institutional mechanism prior to granting accreditation”.

“The syllabus encompasses Vedic texts, rituals, religious observances, and modes of worship imparted by qualified scholars and Thanthris,” the court said.

It also noted that the accreditation process involved theoretical and practical training extending from one to five years, followed by initiation ceremonies, Live Law reported.

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