NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court recently set aside a Karnataka High Court order which had held that the historic Yallamma Devi Temple at Jalalpur village, Raibag Taluk, Belagavi District, was a private property.A two-judge Bench of the apex court headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh and also comprising Justice N Koteshwar Singh referred the matter back to the Karnataka High Court, directing it to decide the issue afresh after verifying the court records and considering the evidence on record.Advocates Rajesh G Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, appearing for the petitioner, submitted to the apex court that the temple, which dates back to the Peshwa dynasty, is a public temple used by devotees at large, and that hereditary pujaris cannot claim ownership over it.The lawyers argued that earlier litigation had only settled pooja rights and not ownership, and that no evidence was produced to establish private ownership. The lawyers also pointed out that the State — both before the High Court and the Supreme Court — had filed affidavits clearly stating that the temple belongs to the Gram Panchayat and not to any private individuals.The Bench of the top court agreed with these submissions and noted that the High Court’s reliance on an earlier 1986 judgment was misplaced as that case dealt solely with pooja rights. The Supreme Court further observed that the ancient temples open to public worship carry a presumption of being public temples unless rebutted by strong evidence.Allowing the appeal, the top court directed the Karnataka High Court to reconsider the matter and decide afresh the issue of registration of the temple as a public temple under the Bombay Public Trusts (BPT) Act, 1950.
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