The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Anand Margis cannot perform the tandav dance ritual in public places.

The court upheld the prohibitory orders passed against it by the Calcutta police commissioner in 1987.

A bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu, Justice A R Lakshmanan and Justice G P Mathur by a 2:1 majority verdict set aside a Calcutta high court order, which had held that the Margis had a right to perform tandav.

While Justice Babu and Mathur allowed the appeal filed by the Commissioner of Police challenging the high court order, Justice Lakshmanan upheld the high court order and dismissed the appeal.

In the result, the Supreme Court by a majority verdict set aside the judgment of a division bench of the high court.

The division bench of the high court had upheld a single judge's order that 'the police authorities should permit the Anand Margis to perform tandav dance in public procession on the occasion of their principal religious functions subject to their undertaking to maintain peace and discipline on such occasions'.

It was contended by the Anand Margis that the dance ritual was part of their fundamental right to pursue religion of their choice guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

The State, justifying the prohibitory orders, had said, "Carrying of human skulls and indulging in dance with weapons like tridents, daggers and/or knife in public roads of Calcutta and its suburbs or anywhere are not only repulsive to public taste and morality but is bound to cause fear in the mind of the people and cause public annoyance as well."

Anand Marg, founded by P R Sarkar known to his followers as "Sri Anandamurtiji", had in 1966 for the first time directed introduction of tandav dance as part of public processions and special functions. But, there were no written documents to prove this fact.

The West Bengal government was quick to ban the public exhibition of the dance, by passing prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, leading to the start of the chequered history of the litigation behind the dance ritual.

The matter was taken up to the Supreme Court, which in its verdict in 1983 had held: "Anand Margis had not been able to establish that the public performance of tandav dance was an essential part of their belief and as such they could not claim protection of Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution."