Keep lawyers, ‘outsiders’ away from temples’ management: Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court urges religious fraternity, not advocates, to manage temples to prevent delays and disputes.

The Allahabad High Court has called for advocates and people from district administration to be kept away from the management and control of temples, saying people from religious fraternity should be given charge.

The court made the remarks during the hearing of a contempt application concerning the appointment of a ‘Receiver’ in a temple-related dispute filed by Devendra Kumar Sharma and another petitioner from Mathura district.

“Now, the time has come when all these temples should be freed from the clutches of practising advocates of Mathura court, and courts should make every endeavour to appoint, if necessary, a ‘Receiver’, who is connected with the management of a temple and has some religious leaning towards the deity,” Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal observed while disposing of the contempt petition.

The court was informed that there are 197 pending civil suits concerning temples in Mathura.

“People will lose faith if the temples and religious trusts are not managed and run by persons belonging to religious fraternity but by outsiders. Such actions should be prevented at the very beginning,” the judge said.

The court added that appointing advocates from Mathura to manage these temples often leads to delays and prolongs the litigation process. “In these famous temples of Vrindavan, Govardhan and Barasana, practising advocates of Mathura court have been appointed ‘Receivers’. The interest of ‘Receiver’ lies in keeping the litigation pending.

“No effort is made to conclude the civil proceedings, as the entire control of temple administration vest in the hands of ‘Receiver’. Most of the litigation is in respect of management of temples and appointment of ‘Receivers’,” Justice Agarwal said.