The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the Hare Krishna temple and educational complex in Bengaluru belongs to ISKCON Bangalore, not ISKCON Mumbai.
New Delhi, May 16 – The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the famous Hare Krishna temple and its educational complex in Bengaluru legally belongs to the ISKCON Society based in Bangalore, not ISKCON Mumbai.
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The decision was given by a bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Augustine George Masih, who allowed the plea filed by ISKCON Bangalore challenging the previous order of the Karnataka High Court, which had favoured ISKCON Mumbai.
ISKCON Bangalore had filed its appeal before the Supreme Court on June 2, 2011, after the High Court’s ruling on May 23, 2011, went against it. In its petition, ISKCON Bangalore, represented by its office-bearer Kodandarama Dasa, strongly opposed the High Court judgment, which had reversed a 2009 ruling of a Bengaluru trial court.
The trial court in 2009 had earlier supported ISKCON Bangalore, confirming that it had legal ownership of the temple and even issued a permanent injunction against ISKCON Mumbai. This meant that ISKCON Mumbai could not interfere in the temple’s management or claim control over it.
However, the Karnataka High Court later overturned that decision. It upheld a counterclaim made by ISKCON Mumbai, which effectively meant that the Mumbai society would control the temple and related properties in Bengaluru.
The case had caused confusion and conflict for years, mainly because both organisations—ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai—share similar names and religious missions. But their legal status and claims about temple ownership were quite different.
ISKCON Bangalore is a separately registered society in Karnataka. It argued that it has been functioning independently and managing the Bengaluru temple on its own for many years.
According to ISKCON Bangalore, it is not a branch of ISKCON Mumbai, and the temple does not fall under Mumbai’s control.
On the other hand, ISKCON Mumbai is registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. It had claimed that ISKCON Bangalore is just one of its branches, and that the temple and educational complex in Bengaluru are part of ISKCON Mumbai’s larger network.
Case Name – International Society For Krishna Consciousness Bangalore v. International Society For Krishna Consciousness Mumbai And Ors.
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