In a landmark verdict that reinforces the public character of religious institutions, the Gujarat High Court has firmly upheld the registration of the ancient Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan as a public trust. The court dismissed a long-pending appeal by the heir of the erstwhile Danta state royalty, effectively quashing hereditary privileges that excluded common devotees during a key Navratri ritual.
A Decade-Long Legal Battle Concludes
The appeal was filed by Maharana Mahipendrasinhji Parmar, the heir to the former Danta state's royal family. He had challenged the temple's registration as a public religious trust, asserting his family's hereditary rights to manage the shrine. This legal dispute, tracing its origins back to the 1960s, has been actively litigated since 2009. The case centered on the ownership and management rights of the Arasuri Ambaji Temple, a major pilgrimage site that draws millions of devotees every year.
The appellant specifically claimed hereditary rights to perform a special puja on the eighth day of Navratri, conduct the havan (sacred fire ritual), and wave the Chamar (ritual fan) before the deity. Crucially, while these services were performed, general pilgrims were shut out from the temple premises. This exclusive right had been accepted by authorities in the past.
Court's Reasoning: Deity as the Owner, Public as the Beneficiary
After a thorough examination of the history of the Danta state, the royalty's claimed rights, and the merger agreement post-Independence, Justice H M Prachchhak delivered a decisive judgment. The court declared, "I am of the opinion that the Arasuri Ambaji temple is a public religious institution, and the deity is a juristic person owning endowed property."
The bench drew a powerful parallel with the Supreme Court's landmark verdict in the Padmanabhaswamy temple case. It emphatically stated that the appellant could not claim ownership or any right over property that belongs to the deity. The court ruled that even by virtue of any historical agreement, the royal heir cannot claim the privilege of performing puja on a particular day in an exclusive manner that curtails the rights of other pilgrims to offer prayers.
Prioritizing Pilgrim Access Over Private Privilege
The judgment gave significant weight to the scale of public devotion at the temple. The court noted that more than a lakh of people visit during the Asho Maas Navratri period, with huge crowds gathering on the eighth day. In this context, the bench concluded that granting private privileges to an individual amidst such a massive congregation of devotees was untenable.
The ruling on Wednesday, therefore, marks the end of a centuries-old tradition of exclusive royal access and reinforces the principle of equal access for all devotees. It affirms the government's decision to bring the temple under the purview of a public trust, ensuring its management is aligned with broader public interest rather than hereditary claims. This verdict is seen as a significant step in standardizing the administration of historic temples across Gujarat.
