Madhya Pradesh High Court has denied the allegations of demolition of the Hanuman temple built in the bungalow of the Chief Justice. The Registrar General of the High Court has said that the news being published in the media is fabricated and contempt action can be taken against them. Registrar General of MP High Court has said that according to the Public Works Department (PWD), there was no temple in this bungalow. The High Court has said that these news have been published with the aim of reducing the credibility of the judiciary. The Bar Council alleged that this temple was demolished after the arrival of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait.
What did the High Court say?
Registrar General of Madhya Pradesh High Court Dharminder Singh regarding the allegations of demolition of Hanuman temple. Said“It has come to the notice of the High Court that some reports are being circulated alleging the removal of the Lord Hanuman temple from the bungalow of the Honorable Chief Justice. These reports are completely false, misleading and baseless. I categorically deny and refute these claims. PWD has also clarified in the matter that no temple ever existed in this bungalow.”
The Registrar General further said in his statement, “The allegations being circulated in the media are completely fabricated and appear to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and malign the credibility of the judiciary.” The Registrar General said that contempt action is being taken on such reports.
He further Said“The Office of the Registrar General condemns these baseless allegations and strongly states that these reports of temple demolition are completely false and serve no purpose other than maligning the reputation of our judiciary. The judiciary is committed to delivering justice impartially.”
What allegations did the Bar Council make?
Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association had written a letter to the Supreme Court complaining about this matter and also demanded investigation and action. According to the letter of the Bar Association, there was an old Hanuman temple in the bungalow of the Chief Justice of the High Court in Pachpedi, Jabalpur. The association had said that Justice Bobde, Justice Khanwilkar and other former Chief Justices used to worship in this temple. The association had told that their staff also used to worship in this temple due to which no one had any problem.
It was said in the letter that Justice Rafat Alam and Justice Rafiq Ahmed also stayed here during their tenure, they also never expressed any objection to this temple. In the complaint of the association, it was said that this temple was government owned and its repairs were done from time to time with government money. According to the complaint, after the visit of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, this temple was demolished and the idols were removed. This action was taken without any government or judicial order.
Letter It was said that this act has insulted the sentiments of those who believe in Hindu religion and has also caused damage to government property. The association has demanded Supreme Court Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna to conduct an investigation in this matter and take action against the culprits. Justice Kait’s side has not come forward yet.
Bar Council Chairman also demanded investigation
In this matter, OpIndia had spoken to Advocate Dhanya Kumar Jain, President of Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association. Dhanya Kumar Jain had told, “This temple was here even before the bungalow of the Chief Justice was built. It was built near a Neem tree. Later it was incorporated into the bungalow. Small construction work was also done with time. The temple was of approximately 5×6 feet size, Hanuman ji and Shivling were installed in it. The former Chief Justice used to worship here, his staff also used to worship here.”
Senior Advocate Jain had told, “Even Justice Patnaik used to come here every morning wearing dhoti to worship. Former Chief Justice Rafat Alam Saheb had even got it renovated. He used to take off his slippers in front of it. No one had any objection to this. But Justice Kait came here three months ago and after that this temple was demolished. Now it is being said that there was nothing here. Freedom has been given to all religions in the Constitution, but when people associated with the judiciary get the temples removed, then who will protect the constitutional rights.”
He had demanded an investigation in this matter and said that if possible, the Supreme Court should transfer Justice Kait to some other High Court. He had demanded re-construction of the temple. It is noteworthy that in this case, the Bar Association of Madhya Pradesh High Court was represented by a lawyer Ravindra Nath Tripathi. Complaint Was found. After which this letter was written. Advocate Tripathi had demanded that if the charges against Justice Kait are proved, criminal action should also be initiated.
