'Yallamma Devi temple is not private property': Supreme Court sets aside Karnataka High Court order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Karnataka High Court order which had held that the historic Yallamma Devi Temple at Jalalpur village, Raibag Taluk of Belagavi District, was a private property.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Koteshwar Singh said ancient temples open to public worship carry a presumption of being public temples unless rebutted by strong evidence.

The court remanded the matter back to the High Court, directing it to decide the issue afresh after verifying the court records and considering the evidence on record.

Advocates Rajesh Inamdar, and Shashwat Anand, appeared for the petitioner, Mallari.

They submitted that the temple, which dates back to the Peshwa dynasty, is a public temple used by devotees at large, and that hereditary pujaris cannot claim ownership over it.

The counsel said that earlier litigation had only settled puja rights and not ownership, and that no evidence was produced to establish private ownership.

He also pointed out that the State has filed affidavit, both before the High Court and the Supreme Court, clearly stating that the temple belonged to the Gram Panchayat and not to any private individuals.

The bench agreed with these submissions and noted that the High Court’s reliance on an earlier 1986 judgment was misplaced as that case dealt solely with puja rights.

Allowing the appeal, the court directed the High Court to reconsider the matter and decide afresh the issue of registration of the temple as a public temple under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.