The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Karnataka government to constitute a committee within the next three days, if not already done, to administer the 12th century Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Bruhan Math, Chitradurga.
“We direct the State of Karnataka that in case a committee to administer the math/institution has not already been constituted, the same may be constituted forthwith, i.e., in any case, within three days from today,” the court ordered.
The order was passed by a Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath after the petitioner, H. Ekanthaiah, informed the court that the pontiff was accused of offences under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Senior advocate P.B. Suresh and advocate Sughosh Subramanyam, for the petitioner, argued that the pontiff cannot be allowed to continue to manage the institutions under the math.
The court directed the State to ensure that neither the petitioner nor the pontiff should have anything to do with the management of the math/institution in question.
The Bench said the interim direction would continue till the disposal of the petitions before the top court. The court listed the case on April 2 while ordering the State to file a counter affidavit which was “very clear, specific, discreet and no vagueness on any aspect”.
The court granted the Karnataka counsel two weeks’ time to file a counter affidavit after the latter initially made a statement that the math/institution in question was supervised by a committee constituted by the State under the chairmanship of a District Judge, but later on submitted that he would need time to confirm.
The petitioner had challenged a judgment of the Karnataka High Court which held that Section 8(2) of the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988, was not attracted to the pontiff. Mr. Suresh argued that the finding was “wholly unsustainable”.
It was further contended that the provision got attracted once the charge sheet was filed and consequently there would be a prohibition on the pontiff in managing the affairs of the math and the institutions attached to the math.
He further submitted that the pontiff was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls staying in hostels run under the aegis of the math.
