What is the Mumbai and Bengaluru ISKCON Temple Dispute? Supreme Court Delivers Verdict

New Delhi: Differences of opinion were observed within the Supreme Court bench regarding the Bengaluru ISKCON temple case. A ​​long-standing legal battle has been ongoing between the Mumbai and Bengaluru factions of ISKCON over control of the temple. The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment for over a year. However, in May, just before the retirement of the presiding judge, Justice AS Oka, a verdict was delivered in favor of the Bengaluru branch. The bench of Justices Oka and AG Masih had overturned the Karnataka High Court’s May 2011 decision, which had granted control of the Bengaluru temple to the Mumbai branch. The High Court had reversed the April 2009 trial court decree that favored the Bengaluru faction.

Fourteen years after the High Court’s decision and six months after the Supreme Court’s verdict, both sides are almost back to square one. This is because a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AG Masih delivered a split verdict on the Mumbai branch’s petition for a review of the May 16 judgment. Justice Maheshwari found that the Mumbai branch had made a case for a review of the judgment. In his order, he stated, “The applications for listing the review petitions in open court are allowed. Notice be issued to the parties.”

Divergent Opinions of the Two Judges
Justice Maheshwari believes that the Mumbai branch should be allowed to present its case in open court, pointing to errors in the judgment. On the other hand, Justice Masih stated, “I have carefully examined the review petitions, the judgment under review, and the material annexed thereto. I am satisfied that there is no apparent error on the record or any merit in the review petitions that would warrant a reconsideration of the impugned judgment. Therefore, the review petitions are dismissed.” The bench stated that due to the differences of opinion, the review petitions should be placed before the Chief Justice of India for directions and necessary action.