Govt intervention has improved facilities in temples: Apex court

Some level of government intervention in temple management has improved facilities for devotees, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday, stressing that temples cannot be treated as private properties.

- Utkarsh Anand

“Limited intervention of the government has led to the improvement of facilities in the temples. There are now good facilities. Most of them are spending the amount in the welfare of the temples and the devotees. What can be the problem of the government constituting committees to improve the facilities?” observed a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

The bench, also comprising justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a contempt petition filed by Vidyadas Babaji, a seer and archaka of the Anjaneya temple located at Anjanadri Hills in Karnataka’s Koppal district. The seer alleged that the state administration had barred him from performing traditional priestly duties in violation of the Supreme Court's earlier orders.