KOLKATA: Believe it or not, a legal battle has been going on in the Calcutta High Court for the past 150 years. Said to be the longest-heard legal matter in the country, the litigation has its origin in 1872 when the British colonial law was reigning supreme. The original petition related to Rani Rashmoni’s Arpan-nama (dedication of deeds) for the running of Dakshiineshwar temple, which receives devotees from all over the country.
Philanthropist and founder of the temple Rashmoni had, a day before her death in 1861, appointed five persons as sebaits to run the temple. She had signed the deed in the presence of six witnesses and it was registered in Alipore court six months after her death.
In 1872, two of the sebaits petitioned before a British judge of the high court that the deed doesn’t mention the rules and regulations to run the temple. After hearing the case for 40 years, the court in 1912 chalked out a scheme to run the temple’s affairs and in 1929, the court instructed to issue a new guideline and form a board of trustees to run the temple.
As the number of sebaits of the temple crossed more than 200, the case was again heard in 1972 to decide their voting rights in electing the board of trustees. The court passed an order in 1986 saying the election would be held every three years under the supervision of a court-appointed officer.
The case was again placed before the court in 2021 in which it was claimed that the head of the board was being elected for the past 35 years keeping the sebaits in dark. The case is being heard on the basis of the original petitions by the two sebaits in 1872.
Additions to the trailing litigation
The records available with the HC show that the case is being heard on the basis of the original petitions of 1872. The latest addition to the dispute is that the head of the trustee board was being elected for the past 35 years keeping the sebaits in dark