And
the latest news; a 3:2 verdict, the Supreme Court referred to a seven-judge
bench the pleas seeking review of its historic 2018 judgement allowing women
and girls of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, set to open on November
17
A legal personality is an
artificial creation of the law – Supreme Court.
The
Supreme Court says a legal person is any entity other than human beings to
which the law attributes a personality. Otherwise called a juristic person is a non-human legal entity recognised by the law
and entitled to rights and duties in the same way as a human being. Sometimes legal
personality even may be conferred on an abstract idea.
Idols
have been identified as juristic persons in Hindu law which personifies the deity
as a legal person. Legal personality is conferred on Hindu idols to provide
courts with a conceptual framework to pass judgment on disputes involving
claims over disputed property gifted to or belonging to Hindu idols.
A
company is a legal entity. So are the temple deities. Many temple deities like
Tirupati Balaji pay tax, own bank account and even a PAN CARD.
Thus
a Deity like a normal human being can fight a legal battle through their
trustees or Managing Board of a temple in which they are worshipped.
Although
let us underline the fact that these Juristic personalities have only legal
rights and not constitutional rights.
When
Ram lalla was declared as a legal personality the Ramjanmbhoomi, was not
declared so for the following reasons:
1.
it will strip of the basic characteristic of an immovable property.
2.
no evidence for manifestation of GOD at the disputed site
3.
present dispute are questions pertaining to the rightful manager of the deity
and the access of the devotees of Lord Ram to the idols and not on the
underlying immovable property.
So
we have another landmark judgment to wait for once again in the name of
Ayyappan.
