Supreme Court Urged: Hear ISKCON Bengaluru Mumbai Review Plea

• The Supreme Court has been asked to list a review petition challenging its May 16, 2025 verdict on the Bengaluru Hare Krishna temple ownership.
• This review plea, filed by ISKCON India, seeks to overturn a ruling that recognized the Bengaluru society as the lawful owner of the temple.
• The dispute is a 25-year-old feud between the Mumbai-registered ISKCON (1971) and the independent Bengaluru society over temple control and assets.
• The current review follows a split verdict by a two-judge bench, with one justice finding merit in fraud allegations and the other dismissing the review.
• ISKCON India has submitted over 6,000 pages of material, alleging 'systematic fraud, forgery and manipulation of public records' by individuals associated with the Bengaluru faction.

The Supreme Court's decision to reopen this long-standing case marks a significant development in the ISKCON temple ownership dispute India.

The Supreme Court of India has been urged to schedule a hearing for a critical review petition, reigniting a protracted 25-year dispute concerning the ownership and control of the prominent Hare Krishna temple in Bengaluru. This development follows the Court's decision last year to admit a review plea filed by ISKCON India, which challenges a previous Supreme Court verdict from May 16, 2025. That earlier ruling had affirmed the Bengaluru society as the rightful owner of the temple and its associated assets.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan brought the matter before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, specifically requesting the listing of the review petition. Chief Justice Kant, observing the ongoing legal battles despite the inspiring work of the organization, remarked on the internal conflicts. In December 2025, a bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and Satish Chandra Sharma had formally issued notice and agreed to hear the ISKCON India review plea, alongside several related petitions, seeking responses from the Bengaluru faction of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and other involved parties.

At the heart of this enduring conflict is a contest between the Mumbai-registered ISKCON, established in 1971, and the independent Bengaluru society, registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act. The dispute centers on the legal ownership and operational control of the Bengaluru Hare Krishna temple and its associated properties, which have been the subject of litigation for over two and a half decades.

The Supreme Court's May 16, 2025 verdict, which the current review petition seeks to overturn, had favored the Bengaluru society. This ruling had reversed a 2011 decision by the Karnataka High Court that had previously sided with the Mumbai faction. The May 16 judgment concluded that the property was legitimately allocated to ISKCON Bengaluru, validating a 2009 trial court decree in its favor. It specifically noted that the Bangalore Development Authority had directly executed the sale deed to the Bengaluru society and found no substantiating evidence for ISKCON Mumbai's ownership claims, deeming any alleged manipulations by individuals associated with the Bengaluru faction irrelevant to the title of the Schedule A property.

The current revival of the ISKCON Bengaluru Mumbai Supreme Court review plea stems from a split verdict delivered on October 28 by a two-judge bench that initially heard ISKCON India's review petition. Former Justice JK Maheshwari, who was a Supreme Court judge at the time, found merit in the Mumbai faction's arguments, advocating for an open-court hearing and requiring responses from the Bengaluru society. Conversely, Justice AG Masih dismissed the review petitions, asserting that no 'error apparent on the face of the record' justified a reconsideration of the May 16 judgment.

This judicial divergence led to the matter being referred to the Chief Justice of India, who subsequently constituted the present three-judge bench to address the complex issues. According to a press release from ISKCON India, the petitioners have submitted over 6,000 pages of evidence to the Court. This extensive material includes judicial depositions, correspondence involving Madhu Pandit Dasa, who served as the general secretary of ISKCON India at the time, and documents that the Mumbai faction alleges demonstrate 'systematic fraud, forgery and manipulation of public records' by individuals linked to the Bengaluru society.

The Supreme Court's decision to reopen this long-standing case marks a significant development in the ISKCON temple ownership dispute India. Yudhistir Govinda Das, ISKCON India’s Director of Communications, hailed the move as a 'significant milestone,' expressing optimism that a comprehensive hearing will expose what the faction claims were attempts to 'usurp the assets' of the institution. These assets include not only the Bengaluru Hare Krishna temple but also the widely recognized Akshaya Patra program dispute.

This Supreme Court review petition ISKCON highlights the enduring nature of property disputes involving religious trusts and the potential for higher courts to re-examine seemingly settled matters, especially when allegations of fraud are central. The outcome will have profound implications for the control and management of substantial assets and could set a precedent for how similar disputes are handled in India's legal system, underscoring the judiciary's willingness to delve into decades-old claims.

This case highlights the enduring nature of complex property disputes involving religious trusts and the potential for review petitions to reopen seemingly settled matters, even after decades. Lawyers advising charitable organizations or involved in property litigation should note the Supreme Court's willingness to re-examine cases with allegations of fraud and the implications for asset control.

Source: Original reporting via Bar and Bench