The J&K and Ladakh High Court has overturned dubious land transfer deeds, returning a 160-Kanal plot valued over Rs 400 crore to the Kashmir Temple Trust in Srinagar. This historic ruling commands the immediate takeover of about 140 Kanals of land unlawfully occupied by Mian Qayoom, a senior advocate and former J&K Bar Association President.
Qayoom, implicated in the murder of advocate Babar Qadri, had built over 25 houses, including a mosque and a 15-flat apartment, on temple land.
The court found that corrupt revenue officials and an impostor facilitated Qayoom’s occupation, Major Arjun Singh, who pretended to be Mahanat Arjun Dass. The ruling, delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice M.A. Chowdhary, directs the Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar to take immediate control of the temple and its assets.\
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The court’s decision prohibits future mutations in the name of any Mahant or disciple. Instead, the district administration will manage the temple’s properties and recorded as such in revenue documents. A bank account for the temple start under the Deputy Commissioner’s supervision to ensure proper management of funds for the temple’s maintenance and charitable purposes.
Additionally, the court has ordered the removal of all illegal structures from the temple property and directed the Deputy Commissioner to seize another temple property in Barbar Shah, currently used by Zahoor Watali, who is jailed in a terror funding case.
The legal dispute over the Raghunath Temple land began with the petitioners claiming their grandfather had leased the land. After a series of legal battles and contested mutations, the high court’s decision aims to restore rightful ownership and ensure proper administration of the temple’s assets.