By: Veena S
August 4 2020
The claim that the supreme court gave a verdict in favour of government holds over Hindu temples is baseless.
The claim that the supreme court gave a verdict in favour of government holds over Hindu temples is baseless.The Supreme Court of India questioned the government about taking over the administration of religious places and said the task should be entrusted with devotees. The Supreme Court also expressed concern over the various state governments' failure in managing temple affairs. A bench comprising of S.A. Bobde and S.A. Nazeer observed this while hearing a plea which highlighted difficulties faced by the devotees at Jagannath temple where they were being harassed and mistreated. The bench also stated that there had been reports of theft of statues in Tamil Nadu. Attorney General KK Venugopal told the apex court that Kerala's Sabarimala temple was being run by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), while board appointed by governments were managing several other temples in the country. The Supreme Court directed the central government to constitute a committee to look into the issues of alleged exploitation of devotees, abolishing hereditary 'sevaks', and appointment of 'sevaks' in the temple.