Karnataka government tables Bill to protect illegal religious structures

The passage of the Bill will virtually circumvent a 2009 Supreme Court order for demolition or regulation of unauthorised religious structures

On the defensive after a temple was demolished in Mysuru, the BJP government in Karnataka on Monday tabled a Bill in the state Assembly to 'protect' all religious structures that are illegally occupying public places.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tabled the Karnataka Religious Structures (Protection) Bill after it was approved in the Cabinet meeting he chaired earlier in the day.

The passage of the Bill will virtually circumvent a 2009 Supreme Court order for demolition, relocation or regulation of unauthorised religious structures from public places.

The Bill is expected to protect 1,242 illegal religious structures that have come up across the state after the Supreme Court issued its order 12 years ago.

The definition of a religious structure, according to the Bill, includes "temple, church, mosque, gurudwara, bodh vihar, majar etc, constructed in a public place without authority of law".

Read | Bommai cites idli-dosa rates to counter Cong on price rise

According to the government, the Bill is necessary "to provide for protection of religious constructions on a public place...in order to protect communal harmony and not to hurt the religious sentiments of the public".

The proposed legislation, as if anticipating punitive action from Supreme Court, also offers protection for "action taken in good faith" from any suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings.

However, the Bill adds that no religious structure will enjoy protection "if any case relating to their removal is pending in any court of law and in such other circumstances as may be prescribed".

Also, no religious structure or its construction will be allowed in a public place in the future, the Bill states.

The ruling BJP was caught on the backfoot after the Mysuru district administration razed the Ucchagani Mahadevamma temple recently. This snowballed into a major political issue as the BJP's own members went up in arms against the Bommai administration. Even Congress dubbed the government as "anti-Hindu". Bommai had to step in by ordering deputy commissioners to halt the demolition of illegal religious structures.

While BJP MPs Pratap Simha and Tejasvi Surya faced protests in Chikmagalur, one right-wing group publicly threatened Bommai, Muzrai Minister Shashikala Jolle and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa with the fate Mahatma Gandhi met.

According to sources, the Cabinet discussed the legal tangle for the government to reconstruct the demolished Mysuru temple, leaving that to the BJP that has announced funds to build back the temple.

The government is expected to inform the Supreme Court of the new law.

Check out DH's latest videos