Supreme Court Delivers Historic Verdict: ISKCON Bangalore Retains Control of Hare Krishna Temple

Supreme Court Delivers Historic Verdict: ISKCON Bangalore Retains Control of Hare Krishna Temple

The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a historic judgment on the long-standing ownership dispute between ISKCON Bengaluru and ISKCON Mumbai. The apex court overturned the Karnataka High Court's decision, which had granted ownership of the Hare Krishna temple property in Bengaluru to ISKCON Mumbai. With this ruling, ISKCON Bengaluru will continue to have control over the Hare Krishna temple. The dispute was related to the ownership of the Hare Krishna temple and its associated educational institutions in Bengaluru.

In 2011, the Karnataka High Court had ruled in favor of ISKCON Mumbai, a decision that was challenged by ISKCON Bengaluru in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court completed the hearing on July 24, 2023, and reserved its judgment. After nearly 10 months, the much-anticipated decision has now been delivered.

Initially, a local court had ruled in favor of ISKCON Bengaluru, but this was overturned by the High Court. Following this, on June 2, 2011, ISKCON Bengaluru approached the Supreme Court. ISKCON Bengaluru claimed that it was an independently registered institution in Karnataka and had been operating the temple for several decades without external control.

In contrast, ISKCON Mumbai argued that ISKCON Bengaluru is a subordinate institution under its authority, and thus, it should have ownership rights over the temple property. A two-member bench of Justice A. S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih made it clear that ISKCON Bengaluru is an independent institution, and ISKCON Mumbai has no legal control over it. This judgment was written by Justice Oka and has now been published on the Supreme Court’s website.