Spare temples: Uttarakhand High Court on 'alarming' live-in relationship, molestation allegations against mahant

Pointing to alleged illegal activities taking place in certain religious places in Haridwar, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday said that the situation was alarming and instructed the Collector to conduct surprise inspections of temples and ashrams..Justice Rakesh Thapliyal was hearing a batch of petitions related to Maa Chanda Devi temple, whose mahant (head priest) is facing various criminal charges and accusations including that he was in a live-in relationship with a woman.The Court noted that it was coming across various such criminal cases related to those in temple management and asked the district magistrate to constitute a team for surprise checks to see the activities taking place in the religious places. The Bench added that the Court be apprised about the findings in a sealed cover.“If this is happening in ashrams and temples, it is an alarming situation,” the judge said..The Court expressed anguish that religious sentiments of people were getting hurt due to such activities.“Hum loug devotee jaate hai mandir main, koi Keral se aata hai, koi Karnatak se aata hai, koi videshon se aate hai kyunki unko vishwas hai, wo kehte hai God yana par rehta hai…ab agar kisi mandir mai ye harkate ho ki wahan ka mahant…pehle tou divorce proceeding chal rahi ho, dusra live-in relationship, jiske saath live-in relationship uske saath bacha b hogaya, teesra Punjab Police molestation charge mai legayi.[We go to temples as devotees. Some come from Kerala, some from Karnataka, some even come from foreign countries because they have faith. They say God resides there.Now if such things are happening in a temple – the head priest there is going through divorce proceedings, is in a live-in relationship, has even had a child from that relationship, and on top of that has been taken away by the Punjab Police on molestation charges],” the Bench said..It added that at least the religious place should be saved from such activities.“Everybody is reading the newspapers. What is happening in the temple? Ab ye din aagaye ki mandir main ye horaha hai? Koi jagah chodi? Arrey kam se kam jahan par mandir, masjid, gurudwara hai, usko tou chod dou bhai. Ukso tou chodu, wo b nai choda, ayashi chal rahi hai wahan pe. Kam se kam mandir tou choud dou. Ek devotee aata hai, wou daan deta hai, wo daan aapke ghar k liye hai? Aapke kharche k liye hai…mandirun main ye saari cheeze horahi hai. Ye sab nai chalega. Unki bawnaoun ko kitni thess lagi jo wahan aate hai. Aur aap chande ka hissa mangte ho? ‘Mera hissa, mera hissa;, wo bhagwan ko daan kiya, charitable purpose k liye use hoga, hospital chahiye, school chahiye… aap k ghar banne k liye chahiye? Hadd hogayi, mandir nai choda aapne.[Everybody is reading this in the newspapers. What is happening in the temple? Have times come to this, that such things are happening inside temples? Is any place left anymore? At least leave alone the places that are temples, mosques and gurdwaras. At least spare those. But even those are not spared, indulgence and misconduct is going on there. At the very least, spare the temple.A devotee comes and makes a donation. Is that donation for your household? For your personal expenses? All these things are happening in temples. This will not be tolerated. Think about how deeply hurt the sentiments of the devotees are. And then you ask for a share of the donations? “My share, my share.” That money was donated to God, will be used for charitable purposes, for hospitals, for schools. Is it meant to build your house?”].The Court had last year taken serious note of the allegations against Mahant Rohit Giri and observed that there was a complete mismanagement of the temple trust. Accordingly, it had directed the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) to oversee the functioning of the existing temple trust. The Supreme Court in August 2025 declined to interfere with the order and asked the Haridwar Collector to conduct a personal inquiry with regard to the management of the math. Further, the top court asked the BKTC to submit periodic reports before the High Court.Today, the High Court was informed that since BKTC has taken control and supervision of the temple management committee, temple funds have increased and various encroachments have been removed. The Court then called for updated reports from authorities. It also warned Mahant Giri that the interim protection granted to him earlier will be vacated in case he does not cooperate with the investigations ongoing against him..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.