Patna High Court Dismisses PIL Alleging Illegal Construction Near Bodhgaya Temple, Says Plea 'Bereft Of Any Material Particulars'

The Patna High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging illegal construction within the 100-meter radius of the Bodhgaya Temple, which was declared a World Heritage Site UNESCO in 2001.

"It is trite law that there cannot be repeated petitions filed for the very same relief before the High Court; even when it is in public interest, especially by the very same petitioner," the division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy said.

The petitioner, Sudama Kumar, had filed the petition for the second time, alleging that the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee was carrying out unauthorized construction near the temple, which is not only a protected monument but also an archaeological site.

The petitioner contended that the construction violates the provisions of the Bihar Building Bye-Laws, 2014, and the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007. He also alleged that the construction has taken place without the required sanction from the Bodhgaya Nagar Parishad.

Kumar had earlier also filed a similar petition. The court then had found the petition to be devoid of any substantial evidence and merely containing bald allegations against the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee. 

In the present writ petition, Kumar said he had taken up the matter by submitting a representation to the District Magistrate Gaya Cum Chairman of the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee. The court was told the Executive Officer of the Nagar Parishad Bodhgaya Gaya had requested the Secretary of the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee to provide a sanctioned map of the Bodhgaya Temple. Though it was duly supplied, no further action was taken on the matter, according to the petitioner.

The bench said the present petition suffers from the very same defects pointed out in the earlier decision. "The petitioner in the memorandum has waxed eloquent about the history of the temple, but however, it is bereft of any material particulars, as to the construction or the violations alleged," observed the bench.

It observed that though the petitioner has made reference to violations of the Bye-Laws of 2014 and the Act of 2007, no specific provisions were pointed out. Even the declaration of the temple as a protected monument and archaeological site is not substantiated by any material, it added.

"Neither the Archaeological Department, which declared the site as a protected monument, nor the Nagar Parishad, which is alleged to have not issued the required sanction, has been included in the petition. Besides the mere assertion that the construction is illegal, there is absolutely no evidence presented to entertain the writ petition as a Public Interest Litigation," said the court.

Case Title: Sudama Kumar vs. State of Bihar and Others Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.7999 of 2023

Appearance:

For the Petitioner/s: Mr. Kumar Shubham, Advocate

For Respondent No. 3: Mr. Lalit Kishore, Sr. Advocate

Ms. Binita Singh, Advocate

For Respondent 6 & 7: Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate

For the State: Mr. Manish Kumar, GP-4

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