Indian Court Permits Individual Religious Ritual In Government Offices

According to the Times of India, the Madras high court has upheld the right of individuals to conduct Ayudha Puja or Saraswathi Puja rituals in their government offices. Petitioner, S P Muthuraman, in a public interest writ petition, had asked the court to ban all religious activities within government offices. The court held however:

Irrespective of religion, Ayudha Puja is a reverence shown by cobblers, weavers, farmers, autorickshaw drivers, rickshaw-pullers, carpenters, shopkeepers, chartered accountants, advocates, doctors etc., to objects which they use to earn their livelihood.... The form of worship or veneration to files and records at the close of the working day preceding the Ayudhua Puja or Saraswathi Puja holidays cannot be called as religious activity by the government, affecting the secular nature of the state.... In government offices, if an individual shows respect and reverence to the materials, books, files or records which are being handled by the individual, it will be referable to his individual freedom and there is nothing to show that it affects the secular nature of the state.