Guru Ravidas Temple to be built in 400 sq metre land in Delhi, Supreme Court accepts Centre’s proposal

The Supreme Court today accepted the proposal submitted by the Central government for the construction of a shrine dedicated to Guru Ravidas in South Delhi following the inadvertent demolition of the temple earlier..The proposal submitted by the Central government through Attorney General KK Venugopal has suggested the construction of the temple in South Delhi’s Tughlaqabad forest area in a 400 square metres of land as opposed to the earlier proposal of 200 square metres. While the temple will be constructed at the same place where it stood prior to demolition, the area apportioned for the shrine now stands increased..The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Ravindra Bhat accepted the proposal and directed the Centre to set up a committee in six weeks that would oversee the construction process. No commercial activities will be undertaken in the area earmarked for constructing the temple, the Court ordered..Further, all the persons who were detained or arrested in light of the protests that followed the demolition of the temple have been directed to be released, if not already released, on furnishing a personal bond..On Friday, the Centre had told the Court that in the interests of peace and harmony, the specific site where the temple stood will be returned to the devotees..“The entire belief and faith of the devotees of Sant Ravidas is in the site where Guru Ravidas stayed and therefore in the interest of peace and harmony we want to return the site to the devotees“, AG told the Court..The Court had adjourned the hearing till today for want of reply from the petitioners on the revised proposal of the Centre. When the matter was taken up for hearing today, the proposal was accepted by the Court..The Bench was dealing with a plea filed by Ashok Tanwar and Pradeep Jain Aditya, two former Members of Parliament from the Congress party protesting the demolition of the Guru Ravidas Temple at Tughlaqabad, New Delhi..The August 21 demolition by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had provoked large scale protests by members of the Dalit community who follow Guru Ravidas, in whose honour the temple site was revered. Followers believe that Guru Ravidas had stayed at the temple site after it was given to him in 1509 by Sikander Lodhi..The DDA had carried out the demolition citing a Supreme Court order passed in a long-standing land encroachment dispute..[Read Order]