The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR & CE) department on Tuesday informed the Madras high court that the system of issuing passes/badges as VIP and VVIPs will be abolished by giving guidelines and a new system of issuing badges/passes with designation especially to persons who shall be exceptionally treated, will be introduced.
The state governor, chief minister, judges of SC and HC, Assembly Speaker, cabinet ministers, mayors, MPs and MLAs, advocate general, all IAS and IPS officers, district and sessions judges, heads of maths/religious heads, trustees of the respective temples, festival ubayadars and kattalaidars, platinum, diamond and patron card holders approved by the HR & CE and local body representative of the jurisdiction in which the temple was located may be exceptionally treated as VIPs to have badges/passes for special darshans in temples under the control of HR & CE.
M Rajaram, secretary, HR & CE, stated this in his counter filed to a petition from J. Prabhakaran, who sought to forbear authorities from allowing free special darshan to VIPs and VVIPs with or without badges on important festivals in Sri Ranganatha Swamy Thirukovil in Tiruchirapalli.
For general devotees, a first-come-first-served system shall be introduced; duty passes to the duty officials inside the temple may also be permitted, Rajaram stated in his counter.