In a significant judgment a division bench of the Karnataka High Court has ordered the Karnataka Government to drop the Muslim DC’s name from the invitation card for the controversial temple festival at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
The State Government on Wednesday admitted before the Karnataka High Court that it was a mistake to print the name of A.B. Ibrahim, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, on the invitation card for a car festival of the Puttur temple.
Hearing this submission from the State Advocate-General, the High Court directed the Government to print additional invitation cards sans Ibrahim’s name.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Ravi Malimath passed the order on a PIl filed by a group of devotees of Puttur Mahalingeshwara temple.
The right-wing parties like VHP and Bajrang Dal have opposed the decision of the DC to put his name in the temple invitation card. The issue also had echoed on the floor of the House.
BJP had criticised the move of the Government and said "it violates the rights of the Hindus."
After a major row over printing of name of a Muslim Deputy Commissioner in the invitation card of Sri Mahalingeshwara temple festival in Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, the Karnataka Government has decided to repeal certain Sections of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act 1997.
After deliberation in the Budget Session of the Assembly Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said they were amending the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act 1997 to withhold the secular nature of the Constitution.
law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra promised on the floor of the House that in order to avoid such controversies in future the Government would bring an amendment to the Act. The VHP which fiercely opposed the name of a Muslim DC in the temple festival invitation has taken refuge by citing Sections of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 to demand the removal of his name from the invitation card for a State-administered temple function.
Karnataka has more than 50,000 Hindu temples administered by the State Government which come under the Muzrai or the Religious Affairs Department. The Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrates head all Hindu temples which come under the Muzrai department.