Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand High Court to hear the Maa Chandi Devi Temple sevayat’s plea against transferring control to the Badri Kedar Temple Committee.
Haridwar DM was asked to submit a detailed report on alleged mismanagement and donation misuse at the temple within six weeks.
The petitioner argued his family has been managing the temple since Adi Shankaracharya’s time and called the high court’s order arbitrary and passed without hearing him.
Supreme Court Directs Uttarakhand HC to Decide on Maa Chandi Devi Temple Sevayat’s Plea
Top court asks Haridwar DM to report on alleged mismanagement at the historic temple as a priest challenges order placing administration under Badri Kedar Committee’s receiver.
Summary
The Uttarakhand High Court was instructed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday to rule on the "sevayat" of the Maa Chandi Devi Temple in Haridwar, which is seeking a stay of an order requiring the Badri Kedar Temple Committee to designate a receiver to supervise the temple's administration.
A "sevayat" is a priest who actively participates in the day-to-day operations and administration of a temple.
The District Magistrate (DM) of Haridwar was ordered by a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S.V. N. Bhatti to provide a report on whether the temple administration was mismanaged.
The matter was postponed for six weeks after the top court requested that the DM provide a report to the high court in order to dispose of the plea.
Through counsel Ashwani Dubey, Mahant Bhawani Nandan Giri filed a case in the top court, arguing that the committee should have authority over the temple despite the lack of supporting documentation.
The appeal contended that the directive was issued despite the existence of a panel that was established in 2012 and included the senior superintendent of police of Haridwar and the DM.
Additionally, the petitioner contended that the order designating the receiver was issued during an accused person's anticipatory bail plea hearing in a criminal case.
It was claimed that the petitioner's descendants had been running and caring for the Maa Chandi Devi Temple as "sevayat" since Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya established it in the eighth century.
The petition asserted that the committee consisting of the DM and the SSP had never received a complaint or raised the issue of mismanagement or misappropriation.
"The high court passed directions which are arbitrary, illegal and perverse and outside the pleadings and without any specific relief, that too in violation of the principle of natural justice as the petitioner, who is the sevayat/chief trustee, was not heard," continued the plea.
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Additionally, the petitioner accused the high court of failing to provide instructions and a notice.
Geetanjali, the wife of Rohit Giri, filed a formal complaint against her husband Bisht and seven other people on May 21. The complaint said that on May 14, the woman tried to drive her son over with a car.
In a different molestation case, Rohit Giri was taken into jail by the Punjab Police that same day and is presently being held in custody.
The high court had noted that Bisht gave birth to their child in January and that Rohit Giri was living with them while his divorce proceedings were still underway.
"There is total mismanagement in the trust, and the temple's trustees are fostering a toxic environment. The possibility of donation misappropriation cannot be completely ruled out," it had stated.
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