HC seeks state, BKTC reply on ‘temple fund misuse’ plea

Dehradun: A division bench of the Uttarakhand high court, comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay, on Monday heard a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging misuse of funds allocated for the restoration of the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples between 2012 and 2017, and directed the state govt and the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) to file their responses within three weeks.The PIL, filed by Rishikesh-based resident Amit Sharma, alleged that restoration funds were misused and diverted to temples not under the jurisdiction of the BKTC. It also claimed that several appointments were made "without prior approval", with "favoured persons" allegedly engaged in violation of rules. The petitioner has sought a court-monitored probe into the matter.During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that despite earlier directions, no reply had been filed by the state govt or the temple committee. The respondents sought additional time, following which the court granted three weeks to submit their responses.