Karnataka - Bangalore   

Verdict on charitable endowment Act reserved

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday reserved judgement on appeals on a single judge order upholding validity of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Charitable Endowment Act, 1997, including the Government's right to appoint an Endowment Commissioner, audit temple funds, appoint priests, constitute a committee to monitor the temple affairs and create a common pool fund.

The single judge had dismissed 170 petitions challenging several provisions of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Charitable Endowment Act, including those pertaining to selection and retirement of priests.

The appellants said that the Karnataka Hindu Religious Charitable Endowment Act, framed in 1997, was flawed and discriminatory. They said it abolished the hereditary rights of priests to perform worship besides prescribing 75 years as retirement age. It did not apply to Mutts, temples and institutions run and managed by Hindu denominations. The Government had contended that it would not directly involve itself in the administration of the temple but only supervise and regulate.

Since Mutts and temples attached to it were a class apart, their exclusion could not be termed discriminatory.

The single judge had said that five per cent of the annual income of the temple would go to the common pool fund. Every notified institution under the Act was entitled to seek such aid.

Admissions

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice Manjula Chellur on Friday sought to know whether Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) was permitted to admit non-resident Indians (NRI) and foreign students in its constituent units.

The Bench also directed the Union Government to place before it the notification declaring MAHE as a deemed university.

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