E-Paper
SC agrees to review verdict on Iskcon Bengaluru temple ownership
Reopening the May 16 decision, a three-judge bench headed by justice MM Sundresh issued notice on the review petition filed by Iskcon Mumbai, which claimed sole right over the temple
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to revisit its decision passed in May this year that put the reins of Iskcon’s Bengaluru temple with the organisation’s Bengaluru faction, trumping a Karnataka high court decision that had ruled in favour of the Iskcon’s Mumbai faction.
Reopening the May 16 decision, a three-judge bench headed by justice MM Sundresh issued notice on the review petition filed by Iskcon Mumbai, which claimed sole right over the temple.
The bench, also comprising justices PK Mishra and Satish Chandra Sharma, asked the Iskcon Bengaluru faction to respond to the review plea and kept the matter for further hearing on January 22.
The review plea came to be listed before a three-judge bench after an earlier bench of the top court last month gave a split verdict on whether to entertain the review petition. The review petition was placed before a bench of justices JK Maheshswari and AG Masih. Incidentally, the May 16 judgment was given by a bench of justice Abhay S Oka (since retired) and justice Masih. While justice Maheshwari held that a case for review of the judgment was made out, justice Masih stood his ground and dismissed the review.
The Mumbai faction pointed out that Iskcon India was registered in 1971 in Mumbai by the founder of the Iskcon movement, Srila Prabhupada, while the top court committed an “error apparent” by recognising the defunct Iskcon Karnataka society as the owner of Iskcon’s Bengaluru temple and related properties. In doing so, the plea said that the top court ignored serious issues of forgery and fabrication by the persons running Iskcon Bengaluru.
The two factions have hotly contested their claims over the seven-acre temple in Bengaluru with a trial court in April 2009 deciding cross-suits filed by the two factions in favour of Iskcon Bengaluru. Later, on appeal, the Karnataka high court set aside the trial court verdict and by a detailed judgment gave control over the Bengaluru temple to the Mumbai faction. This led to the Bengaluru faction appealing to the Supreme Court.
The review plea filed through advocate B Vijayalakshmi Menon stated that Iskcon Mumbai had sent Iskcon Trivandrum head Madhu Pandit Das as President of the Bengaluru branch and on coming to know about certain irregularities committed by him, decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings. Realising this, he filed three suits before a Bengaluru court to restrain Iskcon Mumbai from removing him as President. When he failed to get a favourable order, he tried to revive the 1978 Karnataka Iskcon society started by disciples of the founder by way of forgery and large-scale manipulation taking advantage of the fact that both 1971 society (registered in Mumbai) and 1978 society shared the same name.
