Appeal on seers appointment allowed

BANGALORE: The High Court on Friday  allowed the appeal by C R Shivananda, President of Veerashaiva Sangha, Chikmagalur, challenging the appointment of the pontiff of Kodi mutt as President of the Trust to manage the properties of Uppali, Hosmutt and Karisiddeshwar mutts.A division bench comprising Justices N  Kumar and Venugopal Gowda observed, “Though the petition perpetually is said to have filed in public interest in representative capacity, but because it sought the appointment of Swamiji as the head of trust, it is private in nature and there is no public interest involved in this.” The property of the three mutts was maintained by Veerashaiva Sangha until a petition was filed under Section 92 of Civil Procedure Code in 1991 by one Gurusiddappa. The petitioners sought to remove the trustees and appoint the pontiff of Kodi mutt Mannirajana Pranavaswarupi Shivananda Shivayogi Rajendra as president of the trust, which was upheld by the lower court.The petitioners submitted that this is a mutt, not a trust. However, the appellants moved the High Court challenging the lower court order, which set aside the decree and allowed the appeal stating that Section 92 of CPC is not maintainable. The court  also vacated the interim order and the stay granted in 2001.