This story is from February 9, 2021

Delhi HC rings in major changes at Kalkaji Temple

What began as a dispute over the rights of a woman member of the priestly family to conduct puja sewa in Kalkaji Mandir in south Delhi culminated on Monday with Delhi High Court ordering a major clean-up of the complex, while appointing receivers to take stock of the daily donations that run into several lakhs of rupees.
Delhi HC rings in major changes at Kalkaji Temple
The court rejected the stand of the current priests who control the temple and are legal heirs of the chief priest just like the woman in question, that she can’t be allowed to oversee prayer ceremony
NEW DELHI: What began as a dispute over the rights of a woman member of the priestly family to conduct puja sewa in Kalkaji Mandir in south Delhi culminated on Monday with Delhi High Court ordering a major clean-up of the complex, while appointing receivers to take stock of the daily donations that run into several lakhs of rupees.
Delhi High Court secured the right of the woman petitioner, Kamlesh Sharma, to conduct prayers in the temple but through a male nominee as per mandir traditions.
It rejected the stand of the current priests that a woman could not be allowed to oversee the prayer ceremony. The contending priests and the woman are legal heirs of the chief priest.
Justice Pratibha M Singh directed that the priest quarters within the temple be vacated so that the woman’s nominee could occupy it during the month when it was her rotation (bari) to conduct the prayers in the temple.
The court also ordered the immediate removal of hoardings around the temple precincts and directed all 38 donation boxes to be locked and the keys retained by the court receivers. The boxes are to be opened only in the presence of the receivers and two representatives of the feuding legal heirs. When the amount in the boxes is counted, one-sixth of it is to be given to Sharma, and the remainder deposited in the safe custody of the court’s bank account.
While making the Shri Kalkaji Mandir Prabhandak Sudhar Committee, the managing panel, a party to the case, the court asked it to file an affidavit explaining how the puja sewa ceremonies in the temple came under the control of one faction of priests. The court has asked for details of the quantum of daily offerings and thali dakshina controlled by the priests, and noted that Rs10 lakh was collected in this fashion every weekday, going up to Rs20 lakh on weekends.

“A full account of all offerings received until February 24 shall be filed before this court. All CCTV cameras are to be made operational and the footage to remain in the custody of the receivers,” justice Singh directed.
The conflict arose over the various factions of the legal heirs of the main priest claiming the rights to conduct puja sewa, share the offerings and the revenues from other sources, including tehbazari rights (hawking licences). The dispute unearthed some disturbing facts, prompting the court to order a deeper scrutiny by a court-appointed local commissioner, who, in turn, reported there was no accounting of the donated money and misuse of puja rights and that only five of the eight CCTV cameras in the temple worked.
The high court noted that the offerings at the temple were substantial and, therefore, it was necessary to have a detailed account of the collections, even as it issued directions to ensure proper accountability and smooth functioning of the popular mandir.
“The local commissioner’s report shows that Kalkaji Mandir appears to have come under the control of one faction, which is running it like a commercial enterprise,” justice Singh noted. “It is disconcerting that the rights to perform puja in a mandir are being put to auction and third parties are conducting such ceremonies. There are various hoardings at the temple and commercial advertisements of businesses. The hoardings are prominent, one being right at the entrance of the temple. The nature of these businesses and who is running them is not known.”
As per the court’s interim order, Kamlesh Sharma, the female petitioner, has been allowed to appoint Rakesh Bhardwaj as the priest when it is her family’s turn to manage the pujas and the offerings.
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