SC declines plea seeking wage increase for priests, staff at state-run temples
By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking directions for reviewing and increasing wages and other benefits provided to priests, sevadars and temple staff working in state-run temples across the country.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that the petition could not be entertained under Article 32 of the Constitution and said aggrieved persons were free to avail appropriate legal remedies.
The bench also remarked that petitioner advocate Ashwini Upadhyay may not be fully aware of the earnings and financial conditions of priests and sevadars associated with temples.
During the hearing, Upadhyay referred to judgments of the Allahabad High Court and other courts that had called for a review of wages paid to priests in state-managed temples to ensure a dignified standard of living.
The Supreme Court, however, refused to examine the matter and allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea with liberty to pursue remedies available under law.
The petition, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, sought directions to the Centre and state governments to constitute a judicial commission or expert committee to review remuneration and benefits paid to priests and temple staff in temples administered by state authorities.
It also sought a declaration that priests and temple employees fall within the definition of employees under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019.
According to the plea, once the state assumes administrative and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship comes into existence, and denial of dignified wages amounts to a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
The petition claimed that many priests and temple workers were not receiving even the minimum wages prescribed for unskilled and semi-skilled labourers despite rising living costs.
It further referred to protests by priests and temple staff in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over wage-related issues and cited a February 2025 circular issued at the Dandayuthapani Swami Temple in Madurai restricting priests from accepting dakshina in aarti plates.
The petitioner argued that the continued refusal to revise wages in line with inflation had led to the marginalisation of priests and temple workers employed in state-controlled temples.