Andhra Pradesh High Court Upholds Termination of Temple Employee’s Service After Conversion to Christianity

Recently, the Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the termination of service of temple employee Due to conversion to Christianity.

The bench of Justice Harinath. N was dealing with the petition challenging the proceedings issued by the 4th Respondent. The Petitioner’s appointment as a record assistant was terminated.

In this case, the petitioner was appointed as Record Assistant in the office of the 4th respondent/Sri Bramarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam on compassionate grounds. The petitioner married the girl of his choice.

A complaint was filed complaining that Rule 3 of AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Office Holders and Servant Service Rules, 2000 is violated as the petitioner concealed his religion at the time of employment on compassionate grounds.

The Lokayukta directed the concerned authority to conduct an enquiry and submit the action taken report. The 4th respondent addressed a letter calling upon the petitioner to attend the enquiry in the chamber of the Assistant Executive Officer.

However, the enquiry also revealed that the petitioner filed two different cases against the employees of 4th respondent/Devasthanam complaining that he was abused in the name of caste and two different crimes were registered.

High Court observed that the petitioner has not submitted the extract of the marriage register. owever, the respondents have placed on record the said extract along with the counter. If this ourt is to consider the contention of the petitioner that he has married a Christian girl without onverting himself as a Christian, then the marriage ought to have been performed under the rovisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

The bench noted that the marriage certificate ought to be issued under Section 13 of the Special Marriage Act, no certificate under Section 13 has been issued in the case of the petitioner in so far as his marriage is concerned, this indicates that the petitioner in order to get over Rule 3 of AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments office holders and Servant Service Rules, 2000 has taken this plea. The stand of the petitioner is an afterthought and taken only to get over the statutory hurdle in him continuing in service of the 4th respondent.

High Court stated that the 4th respondent has absolute discretionary powers in farming rules for employees and servants of the 4th respondent Establishment. Rule 3 of AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Office Holders and Servant Service Rules, 2000 adequately empowered the 4th respondent to prescribe the service conditions and service rules and Rule 3 mandates that all employees shall follow Rule 3, that every officeholder and servants of a religious institution or endowment shall be a person professing the Hindu Religion and he shall cease to hold office when he ceases to profess the Hindu religion. This rule mandates the employees of the 4th respondent to profess Hinduism and if any employee seizes to be a Hindu or converts into other religion, then his employment with the said religious institution would cease.

 

This article is originally published on  https://lawtrend.in/andhra-pradesh-high-court-upholds-termination-of-temple-employees-service-after-conversion-to-christianity/