On Friday, January 27, Supreme Court refused to entertain the Andhra Pradesh government’s plea challenging the state High Court’s bverdict, which stated that the state government’s decision to designate an “Executive Officer” to oversee and manage the affairs of the Ahobilam Temple in Kurnool was unlawful. The State’s move, according to the High Court order, violates A. 26(d) of the Constitution and impairs the Mathadipathi’s right to administer.
As per a report by Live Law, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka on Friday while hearing the Andhra Pradesh government’s Special Leave Petition challenging October 13, 2022, high court order questioned why the affairs of religious places not be left to the religious people. The SC bench was not convinced by the state government’s move to interfere in temple administration.
The top court ruled that the Andhra Pradesh government has no legal authority, jurisdiction, or entitlement to appoint an executive officer of the Sri Ahobilam Mutt Parampara Aadheena Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam (Ahobilam Mutt Temple).
“Why are you stepping into this? Let the temple people deal with it. Why should not religious places be left to religious people?” Justice Kaul asked State counsel Niranjan Reddy after finding his argument unconvincing. State counsel Reddy had argued that the Andhra Pradesh government had earlier also appointed executive officers to the temple and there were no protests. It started only after an executive officer was appointed in March 2019.
In October last year, the high court had noted that the Ahobilam temple in Andhra Pradesh is an “integral and inseparable part of the Ahobilam Mutt which is situated in Tamil Nadu.”
Dismissing the state government’s contention that the temple and the Mutt are two distinct entities, the high court observed that merely because of the different geographical location of the temple and the mutt, the temple does not seize to be a part of the mutt.
The High Court stated that because the State does not have general authority to supervise and control Mutt, interference in its affairs should only be made when there are good reasons to do so, such as poor management. No material in the record supports the appointment of the Executive Officer in light of the case’s facts, the Court noted. The Division Bench also noted that Mathadipathis, whose appointment was not exercised by the Government, has been in charge of the Temple since the Endowments Act of 1927. Besides, there has been ample historical evidence proving that the temple administration has always been governed by the seer of the Ahobila Mutt.
About the Ahobilam Temple
According to the information available on the Ahobilam Temple’s website, about 400 KM northwest of Chennai, in the hills of the eastern ghats, in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, is where the Ahobilam Temple is located.
The temple is comprised of nine shrines to Lord Nrisimha that are arranged in a 5-kilometer circle. In the mountain’s foothills, in addition to the nine shrines, there is a temple dedicated to Prahaladavarada Varadhan.
Lord Narsimha had defeated Hiranyakasipu and saved Prahalada in Ahobilam. Mahalakshmi (Goddess Lakshmi) took incarnation (Avatar) as Senjulakshmi, among the Senju hill tribe of hunters, and married Lord Narmsimha.
About Ahobilam Mutt
Sri Ahobilam Muth, one of India’s most prominent Sri Vaishnava institutions, was founded on the orders of Lord Lakshmi Nrisimha of Ahobilam by Sri Athivan Satakopan who was originally known as Kidambi Srinivashchar. As per the information available on the Ahobilam Mutt’s website, the Ahobilam Mutt was founded 600 years ago.
