SC notice to Karnataka govt on plea against taking over ancient Hindu temples in Bengaluru

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the Karnataka government's "arbitrary" decision to take over three ancient Hindu temples in Bengaluru by appointing managing committees over there.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ajay Rastogi issued notice to the state government on a writ petition filed by advocate Balaji Srinivasan on behalf of Prashanth M and others.

The court posted the matter, along with other appeals, for consideration on July 27.

The petitioners are Pradhan Archakas of Sri Anjaneyaswamy Temple, Sri Channarayaswamy Temple, and Sri Venkataramanaswamy Temple, Bengaluru.

They sought a direction to strike down the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 and subsequent amendments for being in violation of Articles 14 (equality), 25 (freedom to practice religion) and 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) of the Constitution.

They also asked the court to quash the notification of March 26, 2021 issued by the Karnataka government for constitution of management committee for enlisted temples as per Section 25 of Karnataka Hindu Religious and Charitable Institutions Amendment Act, 2011.

With the notification, the government sought to appoint the managing committees, which "would have a far reaching and irreversible consequences", their plea claimed.

"Moreover, the arbitrariness of the impugned notification is evident from the fact that there are in all 137 temples under C category in Bangalore East Taluk, Bangalore Urban District. However, the government chose to pass the order with respect to three temples in Bangalore East Taluk, Bangalore Urban District," it added.

The petitioners further submitted that they were serving the temple deity with true devotion and are dependant on it for their livelihood. But now, they will be divested of managing the temples and thrusting new managing committee would undermine the sanctity of these age old temples.

The Karnataka High Court had on November 17, 2015 struck down the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 and subsequent amendment. However, acting on an appeal filed by the state government subsequently, the top court stayed the High Court's order. The notification was passed, taking advantage of stay, their plea claimed.

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