High Court issues notice to Muzrai department, temple body over allowing non-hereditary priests to perform rituals at Kollur Mookambika

Bengaluru:The Karnataka High Court has issued notices to the Muzrai Department and the administrative committee of the renowned Kollur Mookambika Temple over a challenge to the decision allowing non-hereditary priests to perform homa and havana rituals at the temple.

The court has also directed the petitioners to implead the priests who have already conducted such rituals as respondents in the case and adjourned the matter for further hearing.

The petition was filed by hereditary priests of the temple — K. Vighneshwara Adiga, K.N. Subrahmanya Adiga and K. Nithyananda Adiga — questioning the legality of the temple administration’s move to permit priests outside the traditional hereditary lineage to conduct important rituals, including Chandika Homa.

The petition came up before a single-judge bench headed by Justice Suraj Govindaraj. According to the petitioners, the temple’s managing committee passed a resolution in September this year granting discretionary powers to the Executive Officer to allow priests and upadhivanta kshetra purohits to perform Chandika Homa and other rituals.

The hereditary priests contend that this decision violates long-standing temple traditions and statutory provisions governing Hindu religious institutions. The petition traces the history of the dispute back to 2001, when the managing committee allegedly approved a resolution allowing homas to be performed without consulting hereditary priests.

That decision was challenged before the High Court, which in December 2001 directed the committee to reconsider the matter after hearing the priests. Subsequently, in September 2002, the committee resolved that major rituals such as Chandika Homa should be performed only by temple tantries and recognized priests, and that third parties should not approach devotees within the temple premises to conduct such rituals.

However, the petitioners allege that in recent years, unauthorized individuals have been approaching devotees directly and conducting homas and other ceremonies without the involvement of hereditary priests. They claim to have submitted representations to the district administration and the Executive Officer on two occasions in 2023, but no action was taken.

The dispute escalated further after the managing committee, in September this year, delegated authority to the Executive Officer to permit other individuals to perform rituals at his discretion. Acting on this, the Executive Officer allegedly issued orders in November allowing non-hereditary priests to jointly perform Chandika Homa along with the petitioners.

The hereditary priests argue that these decisions violate the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, which mandates that authorities should not interfere with established customs and traditions of temples.

They contend that the managing committee has unlawfully delegated its powers and that individuals not recognized as priests in the temple’s service register are being allowed to perform sacred rituals.

Seeking judicial intervention, the petitioners have requested the court to quash both the September resolution of the managing committee and the November order issued by the Executive Officer. The High Court’s notices signal a closer judicial scrutiny of the temple administration’s actions, with the case expected to have wider implications for the management of rituals at prominent temples across the state.

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