The State government on Friday issued an order to hand over the administration of Mahabaleshwara temple at Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district, its ornaments, documents, and assets to Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt, Hosanagar, according to the directions of the Supreme Court on November 1.
The State also withdrew its September 18 order for taking over of the temple by an overseeing panel, headed by the Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner.
The High Court of Karnataka had, on August 10, quashed a 2008 Government Order of handing over of the temple to the mutt and directed the government to appoint an overseeing committee to manage the temple by taking over its administration.
However, the mutt moved the Supreme Court against the HC order, and the apex court passed an interim order on September 7. The government, on an opinion given by the Advocate-General that the Supreme Court had not stayed the High Court order, on September 18 issued an order asking the overseeing committee to take over administration of the temple from the mutt. And the Deputy Commissioner-headed committee did so.
Thereafter, Ramachandrapura Mutt filed a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court, which on October 3 clarified its interim order.
However, the government did not hand over the temple to the mutt but filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking clarifications. And the mutt alleged that the government did not hand over the temple to it despite the Supreme Court’s earlier interim orders.
On hearing the pleas of both parties, a three-judge Bench of the apex court directed the government to hand over the temple and other assets to the mutt by November 5.