SC issues interim order on appointment of Pashupatinath priests

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday issued an interim order on the appointment of priests at the Pashupatinath temple.

A single bench of Justice Balaram K.C issued the order to the government and Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), the defendants in the case filed by advocate Binod Phuyal and three Bhandaris, the caretakers of the temple.

The petitioners contended that long-held tradition and laws were violated while making new appointments at Pashupatinath, one of the most important Hindu temples in the country.

Earlier this week, the government had appointed Bishnu Prasad Dahal and Saligram Dhakal as head priests (mul bhatta). Accordingly, Dahal would work as the priest of the main temple while Dhakal would be the priest of Basuki temple.

Opposing the new appointments, the Bhandaris had been preventing puja at these temples.

Amid concerns over irregularities of funds running into tens of millions of rupees, by Indian priests, the government had appointed the two Nepali priests, breaking the long tradition of hiring Indian priests. nepalnew.com Jan 01 08