HC quashes govt. order on appointing new members to manage Gokarna temple affairs

The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the order issued by the State government on July 12, 2023, replacing four members, including Vedamurthy Dattatreya Narayan Bhat, and appointing four new members from the monitoring committee formed to manage the affairs of the Gokarna Sri Mahabaleshwar temple.

However, the High Court made it clear that this order will not prevent the state government from approaching the Supreme Court in this matter and obtaining the necessary order to make new appointments.

Raghaveswara Bharati Swamiji of the Ramachandrapur Mutt, had filed a petition in the High Court questioning the state government’s appointments.

The HC said that though the State has the power to make the appointments, the Government was bound to take the Apex Court’s permission before making the changes since the issue was subject to the Supreme Court’s final decision, It also rejected the contention of the State that the decision should have been challenged in the Supreme Court itself.

The Mutt has challenged a 2018 order of the High Court quashing the State Government order handing over the temple to the Mutt. In 2021 the SC had ordered an overseeing committee to manage the temple. After the change in government in 2023, the State had reconstituted the committee replacing four members.