Bengaluru: The High Court on Thursday upheld the government order of taking over administration of Sri Vinayaka Temple situated at 7th D Main, Jayanagar 4th Block, after finding the temple was being mismanaged by Sri Vinayaka Seva Samiti.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Budihal R.B. passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by the samiti, questioning the government’s August 3, 2016 notification, through which the temple was brought under government control after it was established in an inquiry that the samiti had “mismanaged” the temple for several years.
Also, the Bench dismissed an appeal filed by the samiti against a single judge’s November 2015 order, which had allowed the government to manage the temple by appointing an administrator in larger public interest till the inquiry was completed as per the law though the single judge had found procedural lapses in the manner in which the temple was taken over by the government. The samiti’s petition against the August 3, 2016, notification too was referred to the Division Bench by a single judge.
The inquiry was conducted during 2013-16 after several devotees complained about mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by the samiti.
