Anjaneya Temple Take Over – Pooja in Protest

Activists to perform pooja in protest
www.expressbuzz.com

PALAKKAD: The Anjaneya Temple Vimochana Samithi has called on the Government and the Malabar Devaswom Board to drop the move to take over the Hanuman Temple inside the Tippu Fort.

Samithi president A B Shanmukhan and general convener Shashi Kolayakode told mediapersons here on Wednesday that, on August 6, they would perform a sarva aiswarya pooja in protest, when the officials of the Malabar Devaswom Board would come to take over the temple.

They pointed out that the Devaswom Board’s version, in which the High Court on July 22, 2010 had given a directive that the administration of the Hanuman Temple should be handed over to an executive officer on a review petition filed by the office bearers of the temple, was not true.  On February 19, 2009, the office-bearers of the temple had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the verdict of the Kerala High Court.

The Supreme court (SLP CC 18763/2009 dated January 25, 2010) gave a directive that a review petition should be filed in the Kerala High court.

Consequently, the office-bearers of the Hanuman temple had filed a review petition (RP 262/2010) before the High court and it still remains under consideration.

As the case stood undecided, the executive officer filed a case in the High court (WPC 19591/2010) demanding police protection to take over the temple.

The directive granting police protection was got by the Executive officer without providing notice to the opposite parties.

Furthermore, the temple could not be taken over owing to resistance by the devotees.

However, on June 24, 2010 another case was filed by the executive officer of the Malabar Devaswom Board seeking police protection and it was granted.

The office-bearers said that a decision on the review petition was yet to be pronounced by the court and therefore the temple should not be taken over by the Board because of political pressure.

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