New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre and state governments to constitute a judicial commission or expert committee to review the wages and service conditions of priests, sevadars and temple staff working in state-controlled temples across the country.
The plea, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay through advocate-on-record Ashwani Kumar Dubey, also sought a declaration that priests and temple staff fall within the definition of “employee” under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019, making them entitled to minimum wages and other labour welfare protections.
Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition contended that once the state government assumes administrative, financial and economic control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises between temple administrations and priests or temple workers.
“The continued denial of fair wages, social security, and dignified service conditions to priests and temple staff, despite administrative, financial and economic control over thousands of temples, violates the fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution,” the plea stated.
According to the petition, priests and temple staff in several states survive on “arbitrary honorariums, dakshina-based payments and meagre remuneration”, often ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per month, without pension, healthcare or social security protections.
Referring to statutory frameworks governing temples in states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala, the plea argued that governments exercise pervasive control over appointments, service conditions, disciplinary supervision and temple revenues, while simultaneously denying labour welfare protections to temple workers.
“On one hand, States are controlling the functioning and funds of the temples, while, on the other, they refuse to grant the priests and temple staff even the minimum wages given under the labour laws,” the petition said.
The PIL claimed that priests in low-income temples are often compelled to survive on “starvation wages”, despite temples collectively generating significant revenue and contributing substantially to religious tourism.
Citing Ministry of Tourism data, the plea submitted that Hindu temples generate nearly Rs 1.34 lakh crore in annual revenue and play a major role in sustaining the tourism economy.
“The revenue through tourism which these temples bring, is possible only due to the presence of the temple staff, including priests and sevadars. They not only look after the temple, but also keep its culture alive,” the petition stated.
The plea referred to instances from multiple states to highlight alleged economic distress faced by temple workers. The PIL further claimed that the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had earlier observed that temple staff were receiving salaries as low as Rs 750 per month, later revised to Rs 2,984, and had remarked that it was impossible to lead a dignified life on such amounts.
The petition also referred to recent protests by priests and temple staff in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana demanding minimum wages and better service conditions.
Referring to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department’s circular issued in February 2025 prohibiting priests at the Dandayuthapani Swami Temple in Madurai from accepting dakshina in aarti plates, the plea said the move threatened the survival of priests who rely entirely on offerings due to the absence of formal salaries.
“Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State’s arbitrary power over the survival of the priests,” the plea added.
The PIL further argued that exclusion of priests and sevadars from minimum wage protections amounts to arbitrary discrimination violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
“There exists no rational basis to distinguish priests from other classes of workers, as they perform comparable duties under similar conditions of economic dependence and vulnerability,” the petition contended.
“Denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21,” the plea stated, adding that “a livelihood that does not enable a person to live with dignity cannot be regarded as adequate in any real sense.”
The petition relied on constitutional directives under Articles 38, 39 and 43, which require the government to secure social and economic justice, adequate means of livelihood and living wages for workers.
The plea further sought directions to the Centre and state governments to establish a uniform wage framework and welfare mechanism for priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
In the alternative, it sought directions for implementing the spirit of judicial pronouncements, including the Allahabad High Court’s ruling in Shree Satya Narain Tulsi Manas Mandir v. Workman Compensation Commissioner and the Madras High Court’s judgment in Periyanambi Narasimha Gopalan v. Secretary to Government.
(IANS)
