Appalling: Karnataka High Court on temple committee's claim that slum dwellers near temple will affect its sanctity

The Karnataka High Court recently criticised a temple committee's argument that the existence of slum dwellers near the temple's premises would affect the sanctity and serenity of the temple [Kalikamba Seva Samithi vs. State of Karnataka and connected matter] .

Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that the sanctity of a temple is not so fragile as to be endangered by the presence of those who live modestly beside it in slums.

The Court emphasised that the dignity of slum dwellers is no less sacred than the rights of temple devotees.

"The sanctity of a Temple is not so fragile as to be endangered by the presence of the creator’s children who, by accident of circumstance, live modestly beside it. To suggest otherwise, is to deny the very universality that our Constitution professes ... if India has to endure as a nation of the first order, it cannot consign any of its citizens to a second class existence. The dignity of slum dwellers is no less sacred that of the devout. The rights of one cannot be secured by the suppression of the other. The Constitution of India knows no hierarchy of human worth, all are equal before its gaze," it said.

The Court said that its conscience was deeply wounded by the temple committee's argument, which seemed to suggest that slum dwellers are lesser beings.

The Court strongly rebuked such a view, calling it "appalling" and steeped in prejudice and exclusion, emphasizing that the Constitution of India guarantees equality for all citizens regardless of their economic or social status.

"The contention proclaims that slum dwellers are lesser beings, bereft of the right to devotion, right to shelter and a right to dwell beside a place of worship. Such an assertion, in this enlightened age, is appalling. The notion that the divine aura of a temple could be diminished by the proximity of humble homes are sullied by the entry of a slum dweller bespeaks a mindset steeped in prejudice and exclusion. This Court, cannot but observe, that such a stance is an attempt to rend society asunder along the lines of caste, class or creed," the September 19 ruling stated.

The Court made the observation while rejecting two petitions - one being a writ petition filed by some devotees of the Sree Kalikamba Temple in Mandya and the second being a review petition filed by the Kalikamba Seva Samithi (temple committee).

These petitioners had challenged the declaration of land near the temple as a slum under the Karnataka Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1973. The declaration was made as part of a process to build new homes for the slum dwellers and to rehabilitate them.

The Court found that the temple devotees before it had no legal entitlement to challenge the slum rehabilitation process as they were neither owners of the land in focus, nor "persons interested" under the 1973 Act.

It, therefore, rejected a writ petition filed by these devotees in the matter.

Further, the Court observed that in 2013, another Bench of the High Court had closed a case filed by the temple committee seeking the eviction of slum dwellers, after a settlement was arrived at with the knowledge of the samithi.

Eight years later, in 2021, the temple committee filed a review petition questioning the correctness of the Court's 2013 decision to close its eviction case.

The Court dismissed the review plea as well on September 19, after observing that the temple committee cannot go back on its earlier stance to accept the settlement arrived at in 2013.

"Once the compromise has been recorded and acted upon, it binds its signatories with the full force of law. The volte-face attempted cannot be countenanced. The petition being without merit, must therefore fail," the Court said.

The concerned authorities were also directed to proceed swiftly with slum dweller rehabilitation.

Senior Advocate RVS Naik along with Advocate Mahesh R Uppin appeared for temple devotees before the Court.

Additional Government Advocates Mohammed Jaffar Shah and Rahul Cariappa appeared for the State authorities.

Advocate MP Srikanth appeared for the Karnataka Slum Development Board.

Advocate Anil Kumar appeared for the Kalikamba Seva Samithi.

Advocate Clifton Rozario appeared for affected slum dwellers.

[Read Judgment]