New Delhi: The Supreme Court said in an important decision on Monday that the land of any temple is owned by only God, not the priest or any government official. For this, he cited the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict of Ayodhya. Along with this, the Supreme Court put its seal on the notification of the Madhya Pradesh government, which said that the owner of the temple land cannot be the priest of that temple.
Actually, it is often seen that the priests make their right over the temple land. The name of the priest is also written on the government papers. After that, the priests sell the temple land of their own free will. Therefore, the Madhya Pradesh government issued a notification that the priest will not have ownership rights on the land of the temple. The job of the priest is only to look after the temple and its land.
The land would be owned by a government official who would be recorded as a manager in the government document. That government officer will take the decisions related to the land, but today the Supreme Court has ruled that the ownership of the temple land will belong to the God who is in that temple. As happened in the Ram Janmabhoomi case.
The top court said, ‘The work of the priest will be limited to worship only and taking care of the land. Even a government official cannot be given ownership rights as a manager. Only the name of God will be recorded in the government document. If the temple is completely under the government and it is maintained by the government, then a government official can become a manager.
