Administration of Gokarna Temple: Supreme Court gives veto powers to Justice BN Srikrishna

The Supreme Court on Monday took note of the difficulties being faced by former apex court judge Justice BN Srikrishna in overseeing the affairs of Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple..Justice Srikrishna is heading a committee which is overseeing the affairs of the temple.Taking note of the judge's difficulties, the Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra proceeded to issue a slew of directions to enable him to discharge his duties including granting him veto power in the committee.Justice Srikrishna had earlier informed the Court about the non-cooperation of committee members, stating that the members of the could get embroiled in contempt of court cases if the present state of affairs continues."The situation on the ground needs to be remedied at the earliest and all parties must be mindful that the Mahabaleshwar Gokarna temple dates back to the antiquity of the 8th century and the traditions, age old forms of worship must be followed. The suggestions of Justice Srikrishna should be accepted," the Court made it clear.The top court noted today that the retired judge's note reflected his exasperation with the situation."The note by Justice Srikrishna is a note of exasperation only ... It is clear that Justice Srikrishna was getting stymied! Thank(fully) he did not step down, of course also because he knows how revered and ancient the mutt is," CJI Chandrachud observed..The Court, therefore, passed the following directions:- For the proper functioning of the committee, District Judge of Karwar shall stand inducted as a part of the committee. In case he cannot fulfil all functions, any member not below the rank of Additional District Judge (ADJ) shall be appointed. The ADJ shall not be dealing with any matters of trust or temple. - District Judge or ADJ (nominee) shall perform and take all decisions for the welfare of the committee in consultation with Justice Srikrishna. The chairperson shall frame the rules of procedure.- The chairperson (Justice BN Srikrishna) shall have the casting vote and all members apart from the chairman and vice chairman shall have an advisory role and no veto over the chairman and vice chairman's decisions. - State government can re-nominate four private members of the committee who shall be the Upadivantas..Justice Srikrishna was appointed to head an overseeing committee to manage the affairs of the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple in 2021 by the Supreme Court.That interim order was passed while dealing with an appeal filed against a 2018 judgment of the Karnataka High Court which had quashed the State government's decision to hand over the management of the Mahabaleshwar temple to the Ramachandrapura Math.In the 2018 judgment, the High Court had quashed a 2008 government order removing the temple from the list of shrines under the purview of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997.At the time, the High Court had also ordered the constitution of a temple oversight committee. The Ramachnadrapura Mutt challenged the High Court ruling before the Supreme Court in 2018. In 2021, as an interim measure, the Supreme Court said that the oversight committee should be headed by Justice BN Srikrishna. More recently, the Karnataka High Court quashed the State's move to modify the constitution of the oversight committee. As per reports, this development took place in January this year, after the Congress-led State government attempted to remove some of the members of the oversight panel who were earlier appointed by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led State regime. According to a report, the High Court opined that the State ought to have taken the Supreme Court's approval before altering the committee's constitution. The High Court reportedly added that the State's move amounted to circumventing the Supreme Court's order. Senior Advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for the Karnataka government, claimed that privately appointed members of the board were creating problems."The High Court had initiated suo motu contempt proceedings. Supreme Court had stayed the suo motu contempt. However, there was no stay on injunction granted," Muralidhar said. Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Upavanditas, said that the note submitted by Justice Srikrishna was one-sided."Justice Srikrishna has not even visited the ground since 2021," Kamat said.The Court, however, was not convinced. "There is no reason for us to disbelieve a former judge of this court ... We will say all members (of the committee are) to act in advisory capacity. Rules of procedure to be framed by Justice Srikrishna. In the absence of Justice Srikrishna, all the decisions can be taken by the district judge in consultation and approval with Justice Srikrishna," CJI Chandrachud said. The case will be heard next in September. .Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu appeared for the Ramachandrapura Mutt.Senior Advocate Basavaprabhu Patil appeared for the Upadivantha Mandala.Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty also appeared for the State of Karnataka.Senior Advocate SS Naganand with Advocate Mayank Pandey appeared for the original petitioners.Advocates Rishabh Bansal and Anannya Ghosh appeared for the intervenors..[Read live coverage]