Karnataka High Court quashes state takeover of Hanuman birthplace temple

The Karnataka High Court has quashed state government orders that brought the Anjaneya Swamy temple on Anjanadri Hill under the administrative control of the religious endowments department.

The temple, located in Koppal district, is widely revered by devotees as the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna ruled that the government had bypassed proper legal procedures and violated the principles of natural justice by failing to give affected parties a fair opportunity to raise objections before the takeover.

Specifically, the court set aside a September 2018 notification that declared the temple a notified religious institution, as well as a subsequent December 2018 order appointing a state administrator and an executive officer to manage its daily affairs.

However, the ruling does not permanently block the state from taking over the temple. Justice Nagaprasanna clarified that the government remains free to initiate fresh proceedings and issue a new notification, provided it complies with the law and follows the correct procedures.

The legal battle has closely involved Vidyadasa Baba, the temple's chief priest, who has fought to retain his right to perform religious rituals at the shrine. The state’s move to bring the temple under the Muzrai department in 2018 had put his role in jeopardy.

In its latest judgment, the High Court reiterated that the Baba is permitted to perform puja and discharge his duties as an archaka, in line with previous directions issued by both the Supreme Court and the High Court.

The local district administration has previously maintained that allowing the priest to conduct rituals did not mean the temple was free from state oversight. A senior district officer had argued that the priest's permission to perform puja coexisted with the temple remaining under the Muzrai department's jurisdiction.

Following the verdict, Koppal Additional Deputy Commissioner Siddarameshwara said local authorities would review the detailed court order before deciding on their next steps.

The court also dismissed a challenge to a July 2018 order issued by the Koppal deputy commissioner, declaring it infructuous because the state government had already withdrawn that specific order in June 2019.

Probe into BJP agents stayed in voter roll row

In a separate development, the High Court also stayed a police investigation into two BJP booth-level agents accused of submitting fraudulent forms to delete voters from electoral rolls in Bengaluru.

Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde passed the interim order in petitions filed by G.S. Vasanthalakshmi and Deepak Singh R. The Vyalikaval and Yashwanthpur police had registered separate FIRs against the two agents following a complaint by Anoop Iyengar, a Congress leader who contested the Malleswaram seat in the 2023 Assembly elections.

Iyengar's complaint alleged that Vasanthalakshmi and Singh had submitted 778 and 136 objection forms respectively, falsely claiming that voters had moved or were absent. The complaint also alleged signature forgery and a conspiracy to disenfranchise minority voters.

The two agents denied any forgery, confirming the signatures on the forms were theirs. They argued that Election Commission of India guidelines explicitly allow booth-level agents to submit voter objection forms in bulk.

Their petitions argued that the criminal case was legally flawed, noting that under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, complaints regarding voter roll offences must be filed in writing by a public servant—such as the Electoral Registration Officer—and not by a private political rival.