The Supreme Court on Friday observed that people belonging to other faiths cannot be barred from carrying out commercial activities in the premises of the Srisailam temple at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. It, thus, permitted people from all religions to participate in the process of auction of leases of shops in the temple premises.
The two-judge bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna said: “None of the tenants/shop holders shall be excluded from participating in the auction or from the grant of leases solely on the ground of their religion”. It directed the Andhra Pradesh government to grant licence and lease for shops to non-Hindus as well at Srisailam’s Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam in the state’s Kurnool district.
The court stated in its brief judgement that any other order issued by the Andhra Pradesh high court prohibiting the state government and the Devasthanam management from granting licences or leases to non-Hindus will be annulled.
“We direct that none of the tenants or shop owners shall be excluded from participating in the auction or in the grant of leases, including in the shopping complex, solely on the ground of their religion,” said the apex court.
“It is one thing to say that you cannot have a liquor shop or anything like this in temple premises but to say that non-Hindus cannot conduct any commercial activity is too far-fetched. How can you say that a non-Hindu cannot even sell flowers or toys there? If the need arises, we will set aside such judgments,” the bench told senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, who appeared for the YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led government.
The SC was reviewing a slew of appeals against the high court’s September 2019 decision upholding the state government’s ban on non-Hindus acquiring leases and licences for Hindu religious organisations’ shops, malls, and retail complexes.
The petitioners, all Muslims, claimed that the 2015 government decision infringed on their right to life because they operated stores on properties that were leased to them in line with the rules. “The administration of properties belonging to a religious group is not a matter of religion covered by Article 26 (B) of the Indian Constitution, and permitting public auction without illegal and arbitrary restrictions does not take away a religious denomination’s constitutional rights of administration,” they argued.
According to the petition, many of the petitioners had been operating their businesses as tenants on the Srisailam temple site since 1980 but were now being discriminated against merely because of their religion.
It may be noted that for the past few years several allegations of non-Hindu activities in the temple town have emerged. Last year, BJP MLA from Goshamahal, T. Raja Singh, had alleged that the Srisailam Temple in Andhra Pradesh has fallen under the control of Muslims and all contracts and shops have been monopolized by them. He had also claimed that cows in the Goshala were being slaughtered for their meat.
A year prior to this, four Christians were taken into custody in the Temple Town of Srisailam in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh for “actively propagating Christianity”.
In September 2019, a vehicle reportedly canvassing Christianity was found by Hindu devotees. The vehicle had flex banners across the bonnet containing text from the Bible.
Local priests are of the opinion that the entire hill town is part of the sanctum sanctorum and is sacred, and individuals of other faiths are not permitted to propagate their faith in the area. Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Temple is located in the town and is one of the holy pilgrimage site for Saivism and Shaktism sects of Hinduism. The Srisailam town is classified as both Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha.
