The Supreme Court of India on Friday, May 16, delivered a landmark verdict in a decades-long property dispute between ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai, declaring that the Bengaluru temple rightfully belongs to the ISKCON Society Bangalore.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih overturned the 2011 Karnataka High Court judgement that had favoured ISKCON Mumbai.
The 24-year dispute stemmed from internal disagreements over financial practices and alleged deviations from ISKCON’s core teachings. These differences eventually escalated into a full-blown property conflict over the ownership of the Hare Krishna temple complex at Hare Krishna Hills in Rajaji Nagar, Bengaluru.
ISKCON Mumbai had argued that ISKCON Bangalore was merely a branch under its control, and therefore the property belonged to them. However, the apex court ruled that ISKCON Bangalore is an independent entity and cannot be considered a branch of ISKCON Mumbai, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Registered in July 1978 under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, ISKCON Bangalore claims it acquired around six acres of land from the Bangalore Development Authority on August 3, 1988. The temple and cultural complex were subsequently built using donations from devotees.
While ISKCON Mumbai had originally established the Bengaluru chapter — appointing Madhu Pandit Das as its president in 1984 — friction emerged in the following years. According to reports, ISKCON Mumbai flagged discrepancies in the chapter’s audit reports and accused it of straying from the teachings of ISKCON founder AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
A trial court initially ruled in favour of ISKCON Bangalore, declaring it the absolute owner of the temple property and restrained ISKCON Mumbai from interfering in its affairs. The court also dismissed a counterclaim by ISKCON Mumbai and its associated office-bearers, seeking a permanent injunction against the Bangalore unit.
However, in May 2011, the Karnataka High Court set aside the trial court’s decree and declared that ISKCON Bangalore was a branch of the Mumbai society, as reported by Live Law.
ISKCON Bangalore subsequently challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, maintaining that it had been functioning independently and managing the Bengaluru temple for decades.