DHARMARTH COUNCIL Vs. STATE OF JAMMU & KASHMIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No. 1 represented by it's President, Major General (Retd.), R.S. Jamwal (AVSM) who manages and administers the affairs of Shri Raghunathji Temple a conglomerate of nemours temples and deities housed in a complex of which Shri Raghunathji is the owner of the buildings and lands comprising the said complex situated at Jammu within the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and petitioner No.1 is the council manned by the permanent residents of State, therefore, the constitutional, statutory and legal rights guaranteed by the constitution of India and that of the State and the laws made there under are available to them, hence, are entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and seeks the directions to the respondents and prays for the reliefs in the following manner:- 'Petition for a writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ seeking to call for the relevant record and direct the concerned respondents to cause to be vacated by the security forces the land and accommodation in any event the extra accommodation and vacant land, beyond the requirement of the security of the Mandir of Raghunathji (Raghunath Mandir) Jammu being about 15000 Sq.ft. built up area and more than 12 Kanals of open land presently occupied by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITPB) and used the premises as Transit Camp for the force, and thereby, to leave the same free for use of Dharmarth Trust as used before for religious and spiritual purposes, viz; Satsung, Spiritual discourse, recitation of the Bhagwat Gita etc. all on regular basis and accommodating pilgrims visiting the temple from different parts of the country and to pay rental compensation at the market rate, which is on the average anything more than Rs.55.00 per sq. ft. per month to the trust for the entire period from the date of occupation of the premises by the security forces until vacation of such occupation by them and also compensation for the services the trust has been forced to provide in the said premises, including as regards sanitation electric and water supplies in the said building and the open area, and also pay off the pending liability on account of flat electric bills, reimbursing at the same time the expenditure already incurred by the Trust on that account and also cause to be vacated the premises of Hariparbat, the Kali Mata Temple, the Guptganga, the Shiva Temple in Kashmir and rental compensation for the same for the period of occupation at the aforesaid rate and compensation for loss and damages for harassment and inconvenience, paid all alongwith interest at the market rate and to grant any other writ, order or direction that this Hon'ble Court may deem just, fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case'

(2.) Petitioners have averred, that in the aftermath of the militant attack on the said place of worship on 30/3/2002 and then on 24/11/2003, need came to arise to review the security in the area responsive to the threat perception and consequently, to strengthen the security and upgrade vigil in the area of location of the temple, the security forces in that backdrop moved into the temple complex in the year 2003, apparently, for the security purpose responsive to the threat perception, and in due course occupied about 15000 Sq. ft. build up area and 12 Kanals open land of Sh. Raghunathji in the said temple complex.

(3.) It is averred, that the Security Forces, precisely, the J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force, which later on came to be replaced by ITBP, thus, came to occupy a large accommodation built up, which was used for Sat Sung, Spiritual discourse and other religious and spiritual activities on regular basis and ever since the area, which is in occupation of the Forces has forced cessation of the said activities. The trust from the very beginning has been pleading with the concerned respondents that the occupation of the said premises had been prejudicially affecting the maintenance, upkeep and welfare of the temple complex besides violating the religious and spiritual sanctity of the place and drawing up to a large extent the resources of the temple badly needed not only for the upkeep and welfare of the complex, but also for maintenance and upkeep of the other religious endowments and places of worship of the trust, that have no income or have too little to sustain themselves. The cessation of satsung, spiritual discourses, recitation of the Bhagwat Gita and other religious and spiritual activities had not only dried up the resources of the temple, but also reduced the richness of the environment.