DC takes over administration of Gokarna temple

Deputy Commissioner S S Nakul, on Wednesday, took charge of the Mahabaleshwar temple in Gokarna, as per a Supreme Court order.

G K Hegde, the administrative officer of the Ramachandrapur Mutt, handed over charge to the DC.

Nakul is already the president of the temple's supervisory committee. The DC took stock of the valuables of the temple. They were handed over to the possession of the supervisory committee.

The temple's administration was handed over to the Mutt by the then Yeddyurappa government in August 2008. It is now back in the control of the government.

A few priests and a trustee of the previous supervisory committee filed a PIL in the court challenging this.

Speaking to reporters, Nakul said, he was not aware of the confusions that the Mutt has about the court order. The DC said members would be appointedto the committee shortly. Police had been deployed at the temple to prevent untoward incidents.

Shambhu Sharma, the lawyer of the Mutt, said the district administration had violated the Supreme Court order by taking over the temple. The court had refused to stay the High Court order.

He said a contempt of court petition would be filed in the Supreme Court. Sharma said the Supreme Court had ordered that no action should be taken to take over the temple for eight weeks from the date of the order.