New Delhi [India], June 30 : The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition seeking a direction to the Centre and the Bihar government to hand over the control and management of the historic Mahabodhi Mahavira Temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, to the Buddhist community.
A vacation bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice K Vinod Chandran granted the petitioner liberty to approach the Patna High Court.
The bench said the plea filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, directly before the Supreme Court, was not maintainable.
"How will we do it? This is not maintainable under Article 32. How can we issue a mandamus? Please approach the High Court," said the bench during the hearing.
"We do not entertain this. Dismissed. Liberty granted to approach the High Court," the court ordered while dismissing the plea.
The petition was filed by Sulekhatai Nalinitai Narayanrao Kumbhare, who had urged the apex court to direct the amendment of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949, to ensure that the control and management of the Mahabodhi Temple are handed over to the Buddhist community in keeping with their religious faith and cultural rights.
The Mahabodhi Temple--a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the holiest sites of Buddhism--is administered under the 1949 Act, which entrusts control to a management committee overseen by the Bihar government, with representation from both Hindus and Buddhists.
The petition submitted that the current governance structure undermines the religious rights of Buddhists and called for exclusive Buddhist control of the temple, asserting that the site holds profound spiritual significance for the global Buddhist community.