'Govt considering amendment to Religious and Endowment Act'

Advocate General (AG) Ravivarma Kumar on Thursday submitted in the High Court that the State government was seriously considering an amendment to the Religious and Endowment Act, to bring all mutts and other religious institutions under its purview.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions pertaining to Sosale Vyasaraja Mutt, including those challenging the appointment of an administrator filed by the devotees. The AG told a bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice S N Satyanarayana that the mutts were earlier regulated under the Act and were exempted after an amendment to the Act in 1997.

Kumar also defended the appointment of an administrator to the Sosale Mutt. “Though it is not under our jurisdiction, the appointment has been made as per the old Act,” he submitted.

The bench then adjourned the hearing with a direction to the government to argue the matter on merits.

The government’s submission comes in the wake of the observation made by the Chief Justice during the earlier hearing on November 17. The division bench had questioned the government as to why it had not brought in any regulations to govern religious institutions and mutts.