NEW DELHI: Bringing an end to a 24-year-old property dispute, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Hare Krishna temple in Bengaluru rightfully belongs to the ISKCON Society based in the city.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih set aside a Karnataka High Court judgment that had earlier declared the temple property to be under the control of the ISKCON Society, Mumbai.
The case involved a complex legal battle between two organisations—ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai—both bearing the name International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and promoting similar spiritual objectives rooted in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the global Hare Krishna movement.
The dispute dates back to 2011, when ISKCON Bangalore, led by its president Kodandarama Dasa, moved the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court overturned a local civil court’s favourable ruling. That earlier judgment had upheld ISKCON Bangalore’s claim as an independent, Karnataka-registered society with rightful control over the temple.
ISKCON Mumbai, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, had contended that ISKCON Bangalore functioned as a subordinate branch and that the Bengaluru temple fell under its jurisdiction.
However, ISKCON Bangalore maintained that it had always functioned as an autonomous entity, managing the temple independently under Karnataka’s laws.
With Friday’s ruling, the Supreme Court has effectively ended the prolonged legal tussle and confirmed ISKCON Bangalore’s exclusive rights to the temple’s ownership, administration, and associated activities.
The verdict brings clarity and relief to the Bengaluru-based organisation and is likely to influence future governance of religious institutions with overlapping claims.
In a statement, Madhu Pandit Dasa, President of ISKCON Bengaluru, said: “This internal ISKCON battle was against self-proclaimed gurus who claimed to be successors to Srila Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of ISKCON, without being authorised by Srila Prabhupada before his Maha Samadhi.”
“Rather, he set up a Ritvik system whereby all devotees in ISKCON at all times will be direct disciples of Srila Prabhupada,” he added.