The Shatrunjay – Nilkanth Mahadev Temple Case Critical and Neutral Analysis Part – 1 of 3
For the last few centuries. Shree Shatrunjay holy Tirth is managed by Anandji Kalyanji Trust (“AKT”), A recently publicized judgement dated 19th August 2021 passed by Gujarat High Court in R/Writ Petition (PIL) No. 180 of 2017 relating to the issue of Nilkanth Mahadev Temple, which is located at the summit of the Hill has been widely circulated in the social media and has found ample coverage in the print media as well. It is publicized that, ‘no one else except Jains have any rights over Shree Shatrunjay Tirth’. Since then, there have been a lot of questions directed towards me inter alia, asking whether this, judgement has led us to victory; and what benefits Chaturvidh Jain Sangh has derived from this
As a Dharmacharya; and as per scriptural commandments, it is my responsibility to make efforts to enlighten the entire Chaturvidh Sangh about the facts on the subject related to the said judgement of “Shatrunjay Tirth” so that the Chaturvidh Sangh does not remain in dark. It becomes imperative for me to put forth the true, neutral and balanced picture and legal position of the Tirth post judgement and the root cause of their gloomy scenarios. Therefore, I shall be narrating various aspects of this judgement which shall include, both the pros and cons of the Counter Affidavit filed by AKT, historical facts such as ‘Firman’, traditions in Jaina order with respect to the representative authority of Jain Shashan and the consequences of this judgement.
