Court sets aside ruling barring demolition of Rawang Hindu temple

 Lawyers for the temple management have filed an appeal against the Shah Alam High Court's ruling.

Lawyers for the temple management said they are in the dark over the reasons for the Shah Alam High Court’s decision as no grounds were provided.

PETALING JAYA:

 The Shah Alam High Court has set aside a ruling by the magistrates’ court in Selayang barring Yayasan Kubra from carrying out demolition work at a Hindu temple in Rawang.

High Court judge Suriyati Hasimah Hashim, however, did not provide any grounds for her decision, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said.

Rajesh and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal, who represent the Sri Uchimalai Muniswaran Temple management – the defendants in the dispute – have filed an appeal against the latest ruling.

“We are in the dark as to why the High Court set aside the (earlier) ruling,” Rajesh said when contacted.

He said he had issued Yayasan Kubra a “warning letter” against demolishing the rest of the temple pending a decision by the appellate court.

On March 13, the Selayang magistrates’ court ruled that Yayasan Kubra could not carry out demolition work at the temple as there was a dispute concerning the land.

Magistrate Chai Guan Hock noted that the temple had existed at the site since 1995, while the current landowner has owned the land since 2021.

“The court takes into account that the site has the potential to cause public tension if the situation is not properly controlled,” Chai had said.

On Feb 11, police arrested four men who had allegedly tried to demolish the temple.

Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar said an investigation found that the men had demolished part of the Hindu temple without discussing the matter with the temple management or informing the local authorities. The four were later released.

While the temple committee is not disputing that Yayasan Kubra owns the land, it was upset with the temple’s partial demolition, describing the act as “unlawful”. - FMT