'Hijab' row in Karnataka What is supreme, nation or religion: Madras HC

Chennai: Expressing deep concern over the growing tendency of certain forces arousing religious disharmony in the country, the Madras high court on Thursday wondered as to what is paramount -- nation or religion.

In an observation that came against the backdrop of a raging debate over the 'hijab' row in Karnataka, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthi bemoaned that of late, certain forces have raised controversies relating to dress code and it is spreading all over India.

"It is really shocking, somebody is going for the 'hijab', some others for the 'topi' (cap) and a few others for other things. Is it one country or is it divided by religion or something like that. This is quite surprising," the bench added.

Pointing out the fact that India is a secular country, the ACJ said: "What is found from the current affairs is nothing but an effort to divide the country in the name of religion."

The ACJ made the observations while hearing a batch of PIL petitions filed by Rangarajan Narasimhan of Srirangam in Tiruchirapalli district.

In his PIL filed on Thursday, he prayed the court to order strict implementation of the dress code for devotees, disallowing non-Hindus from stepping into the temples across the state and a ban on commercial activities in the premises of temples.

Display boards should be placed prominently at the entrance of the temples banning the entry of non-Hindus and prescribing a dress code, he said.

When there is no particular dress code, then how will the question of putting up display boards on the same arise, the bench wondered.

When the petitioner insisted for an order, the bench advised him to produce the evidence for his prayer. What part of the Agamas (rituals) refer to pants, dhotis and shirts, it asked.