History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c44.89

v3.c44.89

Questions as to whether a new image can be substituted by the trustee or the *shebait* of a temple or whether he can remove the image to another place do come before the courts. Vide *Kali Kanta Chatterji v. Surendra* 41 C. L. J. 128; *Pramatha Natha v. Pradyumna Kumar* 30 C. W. N. 25 (P. C.) where the P. C. laid down (p. 33) that family idols are not merely movable chattels and that their destruction, degradation and injury are not within the power of the founder or other custodian for the time being; vide *Hari Raghunath v. Anant Bhikaji* 44 Bom. 466, where it was held that the manager of a public temple has no right to remove the image from the old temple and instal it in another new building, especially when the removal is objected to by a majority of the worshippers.