K’taka : Gokarna temple to be managed by committee headed by former judge

Supreme Court directive

Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple

New Delhi – While issuing an interim order, the Supreme Court has ordered that the administration of the famous Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple in Karnataka is to be handled by a committee headed by retired judge BN Srikrishna. The court will hold a detailed hearing later on this matter. A decision will be taken relating to the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 and the Karnataka government order handing over the Gokarna temple to Ramachandrapura Math. The court has clarified that the administrative officers and religious scholars of Uttara Kannada district will also be included in this committee.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas including the one filed by the Ramchndrapura Math. https://t.co/vfQf3dgCHX

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) April 19, 2021

1.  In 2007, the then BJP government declared handed over the administration of the temple to the Ramachandrapura math. Earlier the temple was run by a government committee. In 2014, the Karnataka High Court ruled that the temple should not be handed over to the Math.
2. The Karnataka High Court had removed the management of the temple from the Ramachandrapura monastery and formed a committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada district. Retired Justice BN Srikrishna was appointed as an advisor to the committee. It was adjourned after the order was challenged in the Supreme Court.