SC junks PIL seeking direction to give exclusive control of Mahabodhi Temple to Buddhists

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking directions to hand over the management of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara at Bodh Gaya, Bihar exclusively to Buddhists.

“Why don’t you do it before the high court? We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. However, liberty is given to the petitioner to approach the high court," a Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice K Vinod Chandran told petitioner Sulekha Kumbhare after she said that she has demanded that the Bodh Gaya Temple Act should be annulled as ultra vires.

Situated in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya, Mahabodhi Temple complex is the place where Lord Gautam Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site – one of the four holy places related to the life of Gautam Buddha. Lord Gautam Buddha is also worshipped by Hindus as one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Kumbhare has challenged the validity of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949, which governs the management of the temple. The temple is managed by a management committee consisting of four Buddhists, four Hindus and the district collector. The nine-member temple management committee has a majority of Hindus.

The Mahabodhi temple complex comprises a 50-metre high grand temple, the Vajrasana, the sacred Bodhi tree and six other sacred sites of Buddha’s enlightenment, surrounded by numerous ancient votive stupas, well maintained and protected by inner, middle and outer circular boundaries.

A seventh sacred place, the Lotus Pond, is located outside the enclosure to the south. Both the temple area and the Lotus Pond are surrounded by circulating passages at two or three levels and the area of the ensemble is five metre below the level of the surrounding land.

India