The Supreme Court on Monday stopped the move of the Karnataka government to allow Ganesh Chaturthi in Idgah Maidan in Bangalore.
Ordering the maintenance of status quo as of today by both the Waqf Board and the state government, the top court directed that issues be raised before the High Court.
A two-judge bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia had referred the matter to a three-judge bench earlier in the day saying “there is a difference of opinion among the judges.” The new bench comprises Justices Indira Banerjee, A S Oka, and MM Sundresh. The two-judge bench had also allowed parties to approach the Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit for an urgent hearing of the case.
In the Supreme Court today, the board’s lawyer, Dushyant Dave, said: “Don’t give an impression to religious minorities that their rights can be trampled upon like this.”
“No religious event from any other community has been held in this property… It has been declared as Waqf Property as per the law. Suddenly in 2022, they say that it’s disputed land, and they want to hold Ganesh Chaturthi festival here,” the board said.
But the state’s lawyer asked for “a government-managed temple” to be allowed for two days, and “no permanent structure will be built”.
