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‘Good that judge follows Buddhism, but removing Temple not right’: Hanuman temple removed from official residence compound by Justice SK Kait, says MP HC Bar Association. Read full details

It was signed by the association's president, Dhanya Kumar Jain. He also alluded that the action could have been a result of CJ Kait's Buddhist religion.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association has written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Supreme Court Judge Justice B.R. Gavai to seek an inquiry into a complaint about the demolition of an ancient Hanuman temple located inside Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait’s official bungalow, demanding action against those responsible.

It was signed by the association’s president, Dhanya Kumar Jain. He also alluded that the action could have been a result of CJ Kait’s Buddhist religion.

The prayer read, “That, the temple of the bungalow of the Chief Justice is said to be a very ancient temple, in which many Chief Justices of the M.P. High Court like Justice Bobde, Justice Khanwilkar, and Justice Hemant Gupta used to perform daily Puja. Later, the said Judges were also appointed as Justices of the Supreme Court. Justice Bobde also became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Justice Khanwilkar is currently the Lokpal of India. Therefore, the temple located in the bungalow of the Chief Justice is a historical temple, whose protection and respect are the responsibilities of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Advocates Association.”

According to the letter, Muslim Chief Justices Rafat Alam and Rafiq Ahmed, who served in the state, also did not oppose to the temple in the premises of their official residence. “That, in the bungalow of the Chief Justice, when Justice Rafat Alam Ji and Justice Shri Rafiq Ahmed Ji, who had been the Chief Justices of the M.P. High Court, were Chief Justices, the employees working in the bungalow of the Chief Justice used to perform daily puja in the said temple, to which both the Muslim Judges never expressed any objection, rather they always respected the religious sentiments of all the employees working in their bungalow.”

The temple was referred to as government property in the letter which termed the action as an insult to the followers of Hinduism. “That the said bungalow and temple are government property, the reconstruction of that temple has also been done from time to time using government money because mostly the Chief Justice and employees who believe in Sanatan Dharma have been living in the bungalow. Therefore, the said temple is an extremely essential means for making life happy, peaceful, and beautiful, and tampering with and destroying the said temple without the permission of the Government or before passing any legal Order is not only insulting the majority of Sanatan loving people of the country but is also a distortion of Government property.”

“Therefore, through this letter, it has been requested to the Supreme Court to get the Complaint investigated at a high level as soon as possible and take legal action against those guilty of causing the incident,” it concluded.

Advocate Ravindra Nath Tripathi, a member of the MP High Court Bar, had previously complained that he had learned from reliable sources that CJ Suresh Kumar Kait had taken down the temple located within the grounds of his official residence. He thus requested an investigation into the incident. Furthermore, the complainant asked CJI Sanjiv Khanna to order CJ Kait to withdraw from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) asking for the removal of temples from the police stations. Likewise, he appealed for permission to bring a case against CJ Kait or to commence a criminal action against him in the event that an offense is proven. He also called for transfer of the judge.

The development transpired soon after a complaint filed by advocate Tripathi, who urged action against CJ Kait on the same matter in a letter to the President, the Prime Minister, the CJI, and the Union Law Minister. The complaint charged that before CJ Kait ordered its demolition, the temple had been on the premises for an inordinate amount of time, even when a Muslim Chief Justice lived there. “It is pertinent to mention that it is not his personal property, and he should not have done this,” the complaint pointed out. The complaint highlighted that another attorney has now initiated a plea to have all temples axed from police stations throughout the state, citing the Chief Justice’s action as motivation.

According to the letter, Advocate Ravindra Nath, a member of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Advocates Association, complained to the Bar Association about the destruction of the old temple in CJ Kait’s residence. The letter further stated that the entire Advocates Association is angry with the legal community and society as a whole because of this demolition. The destruction of the historic temple has caused an atmosphere of grief and rage among the association. the legal community, and the general public.

Dhanya Kumar Jain, revealed he had been told that Justice Kait ordered that the temple be removed, even though the previous Chief Justices had not objected to the religious place. “Justice Bobde rahein hai wahan, Justice Khanwilkar rahein hai, Patnaik rahein hai, yeh sarein judges ka adovcate batayein hai pooja hoti thi, yeh ek chota sa mandir hai, sab pooja karte the. Lekin ab bataya jaraha hai ki Justice Kait ne use hatwa diya hai (Justice Bobde stayed there, Justice Khanwilkar stayed there, Justice Patnaik stayed there, advocates have said that prayers were conducted there. It is a small temple where everyone used to pray. But now it is being said that Justice Kait had it removed),” he voiced.

He further expressed, “Lekin yeh toh official residence hai. Yeh toh badi baat hogai aur ispe investigation honi chahiey. Achi baat hai ki judge Buddha ko follow karte hai. Hume koi dikkat nahi lekin aese mandir hatana sahi nahi agar aesa hua hai toh (But this is an official residence. This is a serious matter and should be investigated. It’s good that the judge follows Buddhism. We have no issue with that. But removing a temple like this is not right if it indeed happened).”

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