Karnataka HC junks pleas against Ganesh puja at Idgah Maidan

DHARWAD: The Dharwad bench of Karnataka HC Friday dismissed petitions seeking to halt installation of Ganesh idol at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi. While four organisations had applied for permission to instal the idol, Anjuman-E-Islam, Hubballi, filed a plea seeking a stay on the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) general body's resolution allowing the installation.
Earlier, Suvarna Manikuntla, the leader of the opposition in the HDMC, had also moved court against passing of three resolutions, including the Ganesh idol installation as part of an additional list, in the recently held HDMC general body meeting. Manikuntla had said the additional list was introduced without bringing it to the notice of opposition members.
The single-judge bench of Justice Sachinkumar Magadum, however, dismissed the petitions.
BJP's Arvind Bellad, the Hubballi-Dharwad West MLA, was on a sit-in demonstration, protesting what he claimed was an inordinate delay on the HDMC commissioner's part to grant permission for installation of the idol. He alleged the delay was due to pressure from the state's Congress government.
Since the matter had reached the HC and SC last year, and the top court had given a clear verdict saying Idgah Maidan is HDMC's property, when the same matter was taken to the Dharwad bench this year, the court straightaway dismissed the petitions.