Gujarat high court: PIL against shifting temple dismissed

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Friday dismissed a PIL objecting to the possible shifting of the Camp Hanuman temple to the riverfront after the petitioner decided not to press the plea at this stage because the court and the governments said that the litigation was premature.
The court disposed the PIL filed by Tulja Yuvak Mandal after the temple trust submitted that the PIL was premature since it had only requested the Cantonment Board for permission to shift the temple from the cantonment area to the riverfront.
Trust president Sudhir Nanavati submitted that a mere proposal had been made considering security concerns of the cantonment area, the lease issues, as well as the traffic problems caused by heavy rush of devotees on Saturdays.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Vikram Nath said that he was a Hanuman bhakt, but this issue should be settled outside the court. Justice Biren Vaishnav commented, “The Almighty is always with you, whether at the riverfront or at the camp.”
After the trust insisted that all rituals would be performed before shifting the idol, petitioner’s advocate Amit Panchal asserted that the swayambhu idol is not supposed to be shifted. He gave an example of Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura temples and submitted that it would not be possible if someone insisted on shifting Ram Janmabhoomi temple closer to Delhi.