Tanisha Rana
Published on: October 18, 2022 at 23:31 IST
The Delhi High Court ruling governing the management and upkeep of Kalkaji Temple was challenged in a petition, and the Supreme Court on Monday nominated Additional Solicitor General Ms. Aishwarya Bhati as Amicus Curiae.
The Apex Court decided it was appropriate to appoint an Amicus in order to prevent hearing the pleas piecemeal and to have a comprehensive understanding of the situation.
Justice DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli’s bench also requested assistance from Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, an attorney, for ASG Bhati.
“We request Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG to assist the court as an amicus curiae. To facilitate requisite assistance to Ms. Bhati we also request Ms. Archana Pathak Dave to assist her.”
The Bench requested a brief note from Ms. Bhati and said it would give her approximately 4 weeks to do the same.
In his appearance on behalf of the Mahant of the Kalkaji Temple, senior attorney Dr. Rajeev Dhavan informed the bench that the main issue at hand concerned “whether the it (Mandir) was to be developed in its entirety or whether it should be limited to hygiene and cleanliness since it was a private land.”
The challenge to the FAO brought before the Single Judge of the Delhi High Court, he said, has now basically been transformed into a writ petition, and decisions are being made in the manner of decisions made in an Article 226 case. This is an offshoot of the primary matter, he said. Dr. Dhavan submitted that such conversion is “outside jurisdiction,”
“Can a court redevelop a temple in FAO or otherwise? If this is correct, then courts in every part of the country will go to some temple and say they need to be redeveloped. But, that is not the business of the court.”
The redevelopment of the Kalkaji Temple can continue, but it shouldn’t interfere with the rights of the stakeholders, according to a recent ruling by a bench chaired by Justice A.S. Bopanna in a related case, it was said.
He continued by saying that a redevelopment plan is now being considered and would be decided upon by the Single Judge on October 28, 2022.
Dr. Dhavan pleaded with the Bench to issue a status quo order in light of the situation.
According to Justice Chandrachud, nothing significant would occur during the hearing scheduled for October 28, 2022.
He quickly clarified, though, that the Single Judge might be informed of the Apex Court’s order from today. He said that the parties who were wronged could go to the Apex Court if any significant rulings were made.
“The Ld. Judge will know now that we have appointed Amicus…Whatever happens we are here.”
Notice was given regarding these pleas on April 27, 2022.
While giving notice, the Court declined to stay the High Court’s order designating Retired Jugde, Justice JR Midha as the Temple’s administrator to handle day-to-day operations as well as concerns regarding the security and safety of the temple.
The High Court’s Single Judge had ordered that the Administrator would have direct control over the whole temple complex.
Case Title: Kalkaji Mandir vs. Piyush Joshi SLP(C) No. 32452-32453/2013