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The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has given an important verdict regarding the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple located in Ujjain. The court has clearly said that allowing VIPs to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is completely dependent on the discretion of the administration. The court refused to interfere in this matter and dismissed the PIL.
Definition of ‘VIP’ is not in any law – High Court
The division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi said in its order that the definition of the word ‘VIP’ is not fixed in any law or rule. Therefore, it is not within the jurisdiction of the court to decide who is a VIP and who is not.
The court clarified that on the day, in whatever circumstances the district administration and the temple management committee deem appropriate, a person can be considered a VIP and given entry into the sanctum sanctorum.
Plea of the petitioner rejected
This case was related to the PIL of Indore resident Darpan Awasthi. It was alleged in the petition that the temple administration arbitrarily allows some selected people to enter the sanctum sanctorum, while common devotees have to have darshan from outside. The petitioner called it discrimination and sought intervention from the court.
But the court said that it is clear from the proceedings of the management committee of Mahakal temple that entry into the sanctum sanctorum is completely dependent on the permission of the district administration and administrator. The court also remarked that the petitioner appears to be personally aggrieved, so a case cannot be filed on that basis.
No permanent list will be made – High Court
The High Court also clarified in its order that the management committee of the temple has never published any permanent list or protocol of VIP persons. Therefore, the court cannot decide which person visiting the temple on a particular day will be considered a VIP.
‘The same rule applies to all religious places’
The bench did not limit this matter only to Mahakal temple and also said that this system applies to all religious places in the country. That is, the decision of VIP entry to any temple or pilgrimage site will be taken by the administrative management there, the court will not interfere in it.
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga of Ujjain is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of the country and is a big center of religious tourism. Thousands of devotees reach this temple located about 50 kilometers from Indore for darshan every day. Keeping in mind the crowd and security arrangements, the administration takes special decisions from time to time regarding entry into the sanctum sanctorum.
