Supreme Court orders handing over Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple management to panel headed by ex-judge

The Supreme Court Monday said the management of Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple would be handed over to an oversight committee headed by former apex court judge Justice B N Srikrishna.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas including the one filed by the Ramchndrapura Math.

The ‘Math’ had filed an appeal against a Karnataka High Court’s judgment of 2018 quashing the state government’s order handing over the management of Mahabaleshwar temple at Gokarna to the Ramchandrapura Math.

The top court modified its earlier interim orders and ordered that that the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple shall now function under the oversight committee headed by the former apex court judge Justice (retd.) Srikrishna.

The appellant ‘Math’ will have to hand over the management to the committee which shall function adhering to all customs and traditions, the bench said in its judgement.

“We direct the overseeing committee shall function under the chairmanship of Justice B N Srikrishna. Appellant shall hand over the charge to the Assistant commissioner who will report to the overseeing committee,” the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict through video conferencing.