The Supreme Court on Friday (May 16) ended a 24-year-old property battle between ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai, ruling that the ISKCON temple at Hare Krishna Hills, Bengaluru, legally belongs to ISKCON Bangalore, a society registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1978.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih overturned a 2011 Karnataka High Court judgement that had favoured ISKCON Mumbai, and restored the original trial court’s 2009 verdict, which had declared ISKCON Bangalore as the absolute owner of the property.
The dispute began in 2001, when ISKCON Bangalore filed a suit seeking legal recognition of its ownership, possession, and autonomy, and an injunction to prevent ISKCON Mumbai from interfering in its affairs. The six-acre land in question, located at Hare Krishna Hills in Rajajinagar, was allotted by BDA in 1988, and a temple-cum-cultural complex was constructed with public donations.
ISKCON Mumbai, founded in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada, argued that ISKCON Bangalore had always functioned as a branch under ISKCON Mumbai, and that all assets acquired by the Bangalore branch actually belonged to the Mumbai society.
While the trial court sided with ISKCON Bangalore in 2009, the High Court reversed that ruling in 2011, prompting the final appeal to the Supreme Court.
In its judgement, the apex court ruled that the Bangalore society was a distinct legal entity, thus reaffirming its ownership and independent control over the temple and related properties.
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