The Orissa High Court has directed the Utkal University VC to take necessary steps over a representation made by the Freethought Party of India (FPI) to demolish the Hindu temples in the university campus.
FPI general secretary B Ramchandra CST Voltaire had filed a PIL on July 20, 2015 in the High Court of Orissa seeking direction for demolition of unauthorised religious structures numbering 21 Hindu temples in the campus of the Utkal University.
He complained that taking full advantage of the inaction of the university authorities or with their indirect approval, certain people have been collecting fees and funds from the common people in the name of religion and observing “rituals†and thereby creating a nuisance.
The stand of the FPI has been that Article 28 of the Constitution prohibits religious instruction being provided in an educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. By shameless violation of the important provision of the Constitution, the authorities of the Utkal University have provided for Hindu medievalist puja and observance of Rath Yatra inside the university campus by spending enormous amount of money, it said.
The division of Bench of the Orissa High Court of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice Indrajit Mohanty in their order said: “Considering the limited nature of grievance and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the writ petition is disposed of directing the vice-chancellor of Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, to consider and dispose of the representation of the petitioner as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this orderâ€.
The PIL was filed along with photographs of various temples that had come up in the Utkal University campus. They included a Hanuman temple, two Ram temples, a Maa Mangala temple, a Trinath temple, a Radha Krishna temple and a Maa Santoshi temple.
FPI welcomed the order of HC and hopes that the university authorities would take prompt action to demolish all the Hindu temples.
