The significance of the Char Dham board verdict

In a major setback to Hindutva arguments on the state’s control of Hindu temples, the Uttarakhand High Court on July 21 upheld the constitutionality of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Act, 2019 that was surprisingly enacted by the Bharatiya Janata Party government though Hindtuva forces are opposed to such kind of laws. Thus, the Shri Jagannath Temple Act was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in Raja Birakishore vs The State Of Orissa, the Nathdwara Temple Act in Tilkayat Shri Govindlalji Maharaj vs The State Of Rajasthan And Others, the Tirupati Balaji law in Shri A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu vs State Of Andhra Pradesh & Ors and the Uttar Pradesh Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act in Sri Adi Visheshwara Of Kashi. The Supreme Court in Nar Hari Sastri And Others vs Shri Badrinath Temple Committee had already held Badrinath to be a public temple of Hindus and not confined to any family or denomination, and that secular activities of these temples can be regulated by the state. Finally, the plea based on Article 31-A was also rejected though the 2019 Act indeed vested the administration of these temples in the Char Dham board in ‘perpetuity’ rather than for the limited duration as is permissible under Article 31A because properties of these temples will continue to be owned by the deities and mere possession will be vested with the board.