Supreme Court Issues Directions For Better Administration Of Gokarna Temple Committee Headed By Justice BN Srikrishna

The Supreme Court on July 29 issued directions to improve the administration of the oversight committee of the Gokarna -Mahabaleshwar temple headed by Retired Justice BN Srikrishna. The Court ordered the grant of a 'casting vote' to Justice Srikrishna for making settled decisions in the running of the temple. 

The Court had in 2021 handed over the management of Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple to an oversight committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna.

The present directions come as a consequence of the issues highlighted by Justice Srikrishna in his report dated  August 22, 2023, and June 2,  2024. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the problems in the committee's functioning, including a lack of clear rules and opposing groups causing delays.

"In the absence of rules of procedure for the conduct of the business of the Committee, the work of the Committee has been stymied, with the result that the Chairperson has not been able to take concrete decisions to facilitate the administration of the affairs of the temple. It would appear that there are opposing groups which have led to an impasse in the administration." 

"We are of the view that the situation on the ground as reflected in the report of the Chairperson needs to be remedied at the earliest. Above all, the parties must be mindful of the fact that Gokarna Mahabaleshwara Temple is a temple of antiquity dating back to the eighth century and all steps for the proper conduct of worship and religious observances should be taken in accordance with the traditions."

To address these issues, the court has issued new directions:

1. The District Judge of Karwar will join the committee as Vice Chairperson. He can nominate an Additional District Judge(ADJ) in his place if needed; the ADJ so included should not be seized of any civil matter relating to the Trust or temple;

2. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson will create rules of procedure for how the committee works; 

3. The Vice Chairperson can make urgent decisions and promptly report the same to the  Chairperson;

4. The Chairperson will have the final say in the form of a 'casting vote' in committee decisions. Other committee members will act as advisors without any veto power over the decision of the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall respect the customs of the Temple while taking crucial decisions and seek inputs from Upadivantas if they wish to;

6. The Karnataka government can replace the four private members it nominated earlier, after consulting the Chairperson; the new nominees shall be eligible as per the Top Court's 2021 order.

The Court stressed the importance of respecting the temple's ancient traditions and customs in all decisions. The Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple, dating back to the 8th century, is a site of great religious and historical significance.

"(i) The District Judge, Karwar shall stand inducted as a member of the Committee constituted by the order dated 19 April 2021. The District Judge may, if the exigencies of his work so require, nominate in his place a judicial officer not below the rank of Additional District Judge to aid and assist the Chairperson of the Committee. The Additional District Judge to be inducted should be an officer who is not dealing with any civil matter pertaining to the Trust or the temple;

(ii) The District Judge or his nominee shall be the Vice Chairperson of the Committee and it would be open to the Chairperson to authorise him to take emergent decisions with the concurrence of the Chairperson;

(iii) The Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson shall together formulate rules of procedure governing the conduct of the affairs of the Committee;

(iv) Where the Vice Chairperson is authorized to take appropriate decisions in the absence of the Chairperson, he shall promptly report any decision taken to the Chairperson;

(v) The Chairperson shall have a casting vote in the affairs of the Committee. All the members of the Committee other than the Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson, shall perform advisory roles and shall not have a veto over the decisions which are taken by the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson. In taking all appropriate decisions in the interest of the affairs of the Trust and the temple, the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson shall have due regard to age old customs and traditions and will be at liberty to seek inputs from the upadivantas and any other eminent persons whom they may wish to consult; and

(vi) The Government of Karnataka shall, notwithstanding any order of any other court, be at liberty to substitute four private members nominated in pursuance of the order dated 19 April 2021, by nominating new persons in their place. The State government shall however do so in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee. The persons to be nominated as private members shall fulfill the qualifications as set out in the earlier order dated 19 April 2021." 

What Had The Court Directed In Its 2021 Order? 

The Court, in its 2021 order had passed the interim order in an appeal filed challenging Karnataka High Court's judgment of 2018 which quashed the Government's order handing over management of Mahabaleshwar temple at Gokarna to Ramchandrapura Math. It maybe noted that on January 25, the High Court again quashed a Government order de-notifying the nominations of four persons who were members of the Overseeing Committee for the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple, as approved by the Supreme Court in 2021 order. 

The bench of CJI Bobde, Justice Bopanna and Justice Ramasubramanian in their order directed that the committee shall function adhering to all temple customs and traditions, the Supreme Court ordered.

The Overseeing Committee shall consist of the following as members;

(i)Deputy Commissioner, Uttara Kannada District

(ii)Superintendent of Police, Uttara Kannada District

(iii)Assistant Commissioner, Kumta Sub ­Division,Kumta

(iv)Two eminent persons/scholars, capable of discharging their functions as members of the Committee, to be nominated by the State Government;

(v)Two Upadivantas of Gokarna Temple to be nominated by the Deputy Commissioner in consultation with the State Government.

The Court had noted that the management of the Committee would be subject to the final order in the appeal.

Background 

The pleas challenged the impugned final judgment and order of the High Court of Karnataka dated 10.08.2018 whereby it had quashed the Government Order dated 12.08.2008 by which the Gokarna Mahabaleshwara Temple was de-notified from the purview of Section 23 of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997

The Karnataka High Court had in August 2018 quashed the government's 2008 order handing over the management of the Mahabaleshwara temple to Sree Ramachandrapura Mutt.

The court had also constituted an overseeing committee, headed by the Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner (DC), to monitor the daily affairs of the Mahabaleshwara and other allied temples, and had appointed B.N. Srikrishna, a former judge of the Supreme Court, as adviser to the committee.

Case Title : Ramchandrapura Math v Sri Samsthana Mahabaleshwara Devaru and others 

Click here to read the order