Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court has declared Lord Hanuman as owner of his temple properties in Lakshmiganj area in Gwalior and ordered the priest to remain as caretaker in a landmark judgement on Saturday.
A case in this matter of the land of the temple was going on for the last 7 years. Recently, the Revenue Board of the temple’s trust has declared the land of Shri Hanuman temple located in Laxmiganj area of the city as charitable land.
The ancient temple is located in Jagriti Nagar of Laxmiganj. The measurement of the land adjacent to the temple is said to be around 11 biswa. There is also a garden and baradari (platform to sit).
The priest of the temple, Vishnu Dutt Sharma, who lives near the temple, described this land of the temple as his ancestral land and was being told that his father has received it on lease.
In this case, a petition was filed in the High Court by local resident VS Ghuraya, along with one of his associates, Pandit Narendra, calling the possession of Vishnu Dutt Sharma on this land illegal.
The High Court had given orders for disposal in this matter by presenting a representation before the Collector, but the Collector Court had not clearly ordered about this land whether the owner of the land in question is the government or Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
The Collector Court had also expressed the suspicion that this land was partially owned by Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
After this, the parties went to the Revenue Board. Where the Revenue Board considered this as government land. Vishnu Dutt Sharma filed a review petition against it in 2019, on which the final debate took place in May this year.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has given its verdict, stating that the ownership of the public temple or the properties attached to it belongs to the idol sitting in the temple.
