A section of residents of an apartment complex in Bengaluru have gone to court over a temple which they allege was built almost overnight and illegally on the premises by the office bearers of the residential complex association.
Four residents of SNN Raj Serenity, an apartment complex spread over about 15 acres in Yelenahalli in Begur, Bengaluru South, have filed a case in a local Bengaluru court regarding the dispute which has simmered for months. They alleged in their complaint that a temple was built in the common area without approval from either the residents or the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The court has directed that status quo be maintained until the next hearing on April 16.
The temple is a makeshift structure with one wall supporting a roof, and a metal mesh with doors that function as walls that surround a Ganesha idol.
The atmosphere has been vitiated by a TV news report which accuses a woman of “insulting” the idol by wearing slippers inside the makeshift temple. During the commotion, a woman’s voice can be heard asking, “Where are the approvals?”
The woman later told TNM that she was being clearly singled out possibly because her husband is one of the petitioners in the court. “There were a lot of people wearing slippers that day, including the police,” she told TNM.
Jitendra, a resident who requested anonymity, told TNM that disagreement started in November 2024, when a section of residents attempted to install a Ganesha statue in a common area.
“The area was attached to the gate and is still a common area. We called the police and managed to stop the construction at the time because there were no approvals. The idol was then kept in a resident’s house. Now the same idol has been installed in another area,” Jitendra* said.
Sushant* (name changed), a former office bearer of the management committee of SNN Raj Serenity Apartment Owners Association (SRSAOA), told TNM that the general body meetings in December 2024 and in August 2025 had resolved that any place of worship within the common areas must not be constructed until a formal regulatory clearance is obtained. This includes a mandatory modification of the Master Plan approved by the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority and the GBA.
“Without the mandatory approvals, occupancy certificates can be cancelled by the fire department, and authorities could impose penalties too,” Sushant said.
However, a small temple was built in the early hours of March 20 near Block A by a group of people led by Vivekanand Pandey, president of the association and other office bearers.
Jitendra said that he and others then went to the Begur police station and got the police to register a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR). “By Sunday (March 29), a lot of people came to do pooja and it is slowly becoming a place of worship,” Jitendra said.
43-year-old resident Chitra*, who has lived with her family at the apartment for many years , says there is a rift among the residents over these developments because many were not informed.
“They built it overnight by breaking rules and by breaking the trust that the residents have for the management committee. We’re asking for documents on the approvals from the GBA. When we raise these questions, there are no answers. I would be ok if it were done with approvals, but they’re doing it in such a hushed manner. I totally object to this,” she said.
Jitendra pointed out that common areas were jointly owned by all the apartment owners. “This is being done in the common area. But each resident’s consent is required because it was not there when we bought the apartment. The common area is my land too. Tomorrow will I be allowed to build something there? It’s an encroachment. It would be fine if the temple was approved.”
In the petition filed with the court on March 23, the petitioners urged the court to grant a permanent injunction against any alteration of common areas or change in usage of common areas without “change of land use” approvals from GBA and the fire department. They also want the structure removed and the area restored to original condition.
They also urged the court to restrain the defendants from conducting any religious rituals, ceremonies or public gatherings at the “illegal” temple, and restrain them from creating third party rights or religious interests in connection with the temple.
However, Sudhir*, a member of the 18-member management committee who declined to be named told TNM that during the December 2024 general body meeting around 480 people had voted in favour of having a temple while a little over 200 people had opposed it.
He claimed that when he “informally” spoke to BBMP officials, they had told him that approvals would be required only for a permanent structure not a temporary one. “I don’t have any of this in writing and I don’t know how true this is, but this is what I was told.”
Asked how a member of the management committee could proceed on the basis of an informal conversation and without following legal procedure, Sudhir said, “It is the president, secretary and treasurer of the association who have the most responsibility.”
Asked why a temple in the common area was necessary, he said, “I don’t know the answer to that. I was told that there was a decision taken during the general body meeting.”
Not an isolated instance
Several apartments across Bengaluru have faced similar situations or have alleged a similar pattern in the past few years.
In June 2024, office bearers of Provident Welworth City Residents’ Welfare Association in Yelahanka, had accused BJP MLA SR Vishwanath of backing a plan to install a Ganesha idol in the apartment complex.
K Mathai, the president of the association, had said the construction of a Tulasi katte (a raised platform around a Tulasi plant) had sparked demands from other communities too.
In August 2024, the Doddaballapura Planning Authority (DPA) had issued a notice to Provident Welworth City Apartment Owners Association stating that the Ganesha temple built on the CA site should be removed.
A month later, in September, the association filed a plea in the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to the Doddaballapura Planning Authority to defer implementation of its notice.
While disposing of the petition in November 2024, the HC observed that the DPA must deal with the issue under the applicable laws and that the nature of the civic amenity site could not be altered. It said that the association must place the relevant material regarding the temple before the DPA which must consider it “with the sole purpose of protecting property as a civic amenity”.
It then disposed of the petition, granting liberty to the association to file a response to the DPA’s notice to demolish the temple.
In May 2022, residents of Concorde Manhattan Apartment on Neeladri Road, Electronics City filed a PIL with the Karnataka High Court, seeking directions to the Bangalore Development Authority to remove a makeshift temple that encroached on a civic amenity site.
One of the petitioners, Sunil Jacob, told TNM that the civic amenity site was being used as a playground and that a section of residents had built a temple. Civic amenity sites are owned by the BDA and meant for public use such as parks, schools, community halls or public health centres.
In August 2022, the HC disposed of the petition, directing the BDA to consider the representations of the petitioners regarding the alleged encroachment.
Even one-and-a-half years later, the BDA took no action, prompting the petitioners to file a judicial contempt petition in the HC. However, the BDA has taken no action.
After inquiring into the matter, the BDA found that a temple had been constructed illegally by encroaching on the property of the BDA and ordered its demolition.
In June 2025, the Karnataka High Court permitted the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru South to inspect the premises of Prestige Falcon City in Konanakunte, after some residents filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging their apartment’s decision to allow the construction of a temple on the buffer zone of a rajakaluve (storm water drain).
In October 2023, officials from Bengaluru West City Corporation filed a complaint at the Thalaghattapura Police against the construction of a temple on the civic amenity site within premises of Sobha Forest View Apartment premises.
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