Supreme Court rejects plea to hand over Bodh Gaya temple management to Buddhists

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition seeking directions to hand over the control and management of Bihar’s Mahabodhi Mahavira temple in Bodh Gaya to Buddhists, reported Live Law.

The petitioner, former Minister of State Sulekha Kumbhare, had sought amendments to the Bodh Gaya Temple Act 1949.

The act states that a committee constituted by the Bihar government will look after the “management and control” of the Mahabodhi temple and its property.

According to the act’s provisions, the committee should include eight members nominated by the state government and four of them should be Hindus. The district magistrate will double as the chairman of the committee, provided he is a Hindu.

In February, several Buddhist monks began an indefinite hunger strike in Bodh Gaya, demanding full control of the Mahabodhi temple.

This was followed by rallies organised in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, culminating in a massive rally in Bodh Gaya on March 18 and 19.

On Monday, a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran ruled that a plea under Article 32 of the Constitution could not be directly entertained by the court on the issue, Bar and Bench reported. The bench instead directed the petitioner to approach the Patna High Court.

Article 32 grants every individual the right to move the Supreme Court for...

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