Sale deed order on land near temple set aside

BANGALORE: The High Court on Thursday set aside the order of the State Government executing the sale deed on the land adjacent to the Kadu Malleswara Temple in Malleswaram in favour of Sai Mandali. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice A S Bopanna held that the order of the State Government was in violation of Section 62 of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act. It further said that the selling of the 6000 sq ft of land belonging to Kadu Malleswara temple was illegal and against the act and the sale deed is null and void.The court, while passing the order, observed that the temple is one of the ancient temples and the government should act towards preserving it. Earlier, the court had stayed an order of the Commissioner of Religious and Charitable Endowment proposing to hand over land to the Sai Mandali. The court passed the order on a PIL filed challenging the decision of the Commissioner to execute the sale deed on the land in favour of Sai Mandali. The petitioner contended that the land belonged to the temple and that it was needed in case the temple wants to expand its activities or construct a new building.