Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 25: Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal has directed the Government to entrust the management of Machail Mata shrine to one of the existing Shrine Boards as enactment of statutes separately for each shrine may not be an appropriate and feasible exercise.
The direction has been passed while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by practicing lawyer Ajay Kumar Sharma hailing from Kishtwar seeking constitution of Shrine Board at Machial Mata and Special Investigation Team to look into the financial irregularities and assets of the Sarv Shakti Sevak Sanstha.
After hearing Advocate Aditya Sharma appearing for the PIL whereas Advocate General DC Raina appearing for the UT, the DB observed, “it is important to note that enactment of statutes separately for each shrine in the Union Territory may not be an appropriate and feasible exercise. Therefore to have a consolidate and a uniform legislation for all the charitable and religious institutions and endowments within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, we feel that it would be more appropriate and better if the Government identifies all such institutions in the UT as a whole and endeavours to make a common law for all of them if necessary”.
“We dispose of the petition finally leaving it open to the Advocate General or the public spirited persons having some interest in the temple to get a scheme of management prepared with the intervention of the court under Section 92 CPC and at the same time we direct the Government of Union Territory to explore the possibility of a legislation in consonance with Acts enacted for the management and governance of similar shrines in the Union Territory or the country elsewhere”.
“We expect the Government to take a positive call in this regard without any delay in the right earnest as early as possible and come up with an appropriate legislation and till such time any arrangement as aforesaid is made and enforced”, the DB said and directed the Government to entrust the entire management of the shrine in question to one of the Shrine Boards existing in the Union Territory in context with the other temples/shrines.
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