The Supreme Court on 7th March stayed the attempts of the Congress govt in Telangana to take over the Sri Veerabhadra Swamy, known as the Machileshwarnath Temple, at Ranga Reddy District. A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti stayed the appointment of the Executive Officer for the temple by the State government on a plea filed by the temple.
The apex court also issued notice to the state government over the petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Telangana Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act 1987. The petition was filed on behalf of the priests of the Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple. Apart from challenging the constitutionality of the Act, the petition also challenged order of the commissioner of endowments to appoint an Executive Officer of the temple.
The petition claimed that through the appointment of the Executive Officer, the Telangana government is attempting to take over the Hindu temple and remove the current administrators and priests. They argued that the government order violated the Articles 14 (Equality before law), 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion), and 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs) of the Indian Constitution. The petition said that the management and administration of a temple are an essential part of the right to religion.
The petitioners challenged the Act on the basis that it gives the government unfettered power, as it can replace the management of any temple without any reason. “Under the said Act, the Respondent Government has unfettered powers to supersede the administration of any temple and to replace the management of any temple with a board of trustees of their choice, run by an Executive Officer, under the directions of the Respondent Government. This power can be exercised under the Act, without the need for any cause, or reason, in a completely arbitrary fashion,” the plea stated.
The petition further stated that the government has misused the provisions of this Act and appointed an Executive Officer to take charge of the Temple without prescribing any cause and in perpetuity.
The plea filed through Advocate-On-Record Rashi Bansal argued that the government can only take over the management to cure financial maladministration. Therefore, the management of the Machileshwarnath temple has to be returned as it is not facing any such financial issues.
