BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court declined to interfere with the permission granted by the Commissioner of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) to a Hindu organisation to install Ganesha idol at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi.
Justice Ashok S Kinagi passed the interim order late Tuesday night after hearing arguments on the petition filed by Anjuman-e-Islam, represented by its president Mohammed Yousuf Chammsab Savanur from Hubballi, challenging the permission granted to install a Ganesha idol at Idgah Maidan, based on the suggestion by the panel constituted by HDMC.
Recording the submissions of the petitioner’s counsel and State government, the court rejected the interim prayer by the petitioner to stay permission granted by the HDMC Commissioner for Ganesha festival celebrations at Idgah Maidan.
Passing the interim order on Tuesday evening, granting liberty to the HDMC Commissioner to exercise power under Section 176 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act to consider and pass orders on applications submitted, seeking permission for installation of Ganesha idol at Idgah Maidan, in accordance with law, the court also granted liberty to the petitioner to mention before court any order passed by the Supreme Court hearing the Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan case.
A special leave petition was filed by Karnataka State Board for Waqf against the order of a Karnataka HC division bench, which permitted the Deputy Commissioner to consider applications seeking permission to install Ganesha idol at Idgah Maidan at Chamarajpet, and pass an appropriate order.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday evening passed the order that both parties -- Waqf Board and State government -- should maintain status quo on use of Idgah Maidan at Chamarajpet. Hence, the DC cannot permit installation of Ganesha idol there.
In view of this, counsel for the petitioner Anjuman-e-Islam mentioned the matter before Justice Kinagi and requested extension of the benefit given by Supreme Court to Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan to the Hubballi Idgah Maidan too. He also submitted that conversion of a place of worship is not permitted in law, and hence, permission granted by the Commissioner is unlawful.
In its counter, Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa argued that there cannot be any dispute about the title of Idgah Maidan in Hubballi, as it is already decided that it exclusively belongs to HDMC, so the principle applied in the title dispute of Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan cannot be applied to the Hubballi case. He also brought to the notice of the court that HDMC had passed the order on Tuesday evening, permitting an organisation to instal Ganesha idol at Idgah Maidan for two days.