Bombay HC allows Jains to serve meals to devotees in temple dining halls during Ayambil Oli

In a relief to the Jain community, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed them to conduct the ritual of feeding devotees during the nine-day Ayambil Oli or Ashwini Navapada festival in their temple dining halls. The community had approached the court through Atma Kamal Labdhisurishawji Jain Gyanmandir Trust and stated that the as feeding devotees was a mandatory annual service for community members, they should be granted permission for the same.

The trust assured the court that the dining ritual would be held only in those temples that had dining halls admeasuring nearly 1000 sq feet and 40 persons would be admitted in the hall per hour. The court accepted the assurance but directed the community to follow SOPs issued by the state government for the functioning of restaurants during the pandemic.

A division bench of justices S J Kathawalla and V G Bisht while hearing the petition was informed by advocate Praful Shah that the nine-day festival commencing on October 23 till October 31 was part of the mandatory religious rituals of the community wherein members were offered meals over the entire period of the festival.

Shah informed the court that the community was cognizant of the pandemic situation but were willing to abide by court orders. He also submitted that on its part the community would ensure that the meals would be distributed only in those temples which had a dining hall admeasuring 1,000 square feet. He added that the community would also ensure that at any point of time only 40 devotees would be admitted to the hall during the meal distribution.

When asked to respond, advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni informed the court that the state was not inclined to permit the community and it was on the court to decide. Kumbhakoni further submitted that after the state allowed trains and restaurants to start functioning, it had come to know from the staff that none of the social distancing norms or Covid-19 protocols were being observed. Hence, the state was opposing the petition.

After hearing the submissions the court observed, “We are aware that it is not possible. But it cannot be time immemorial,” said justice Kathawalla and said that in light of the submissions by the petitioners it was allowing it to observe the Ayambil Oli rituals.

The court further reiterated that the community members would only have access to the dining hall and not the temple and all protocols laid down by the state government for restaurants would have to be observed during the nine-days. The court also sought a list of temples which had dining halls of the specified measurement and to ensure that meals were not distributed in smaller halls and disposed of the petition.

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