The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a petition filed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, India (ISKCON India), seeking a review of its May 16, 2025 judgment that held that the Hare Krishna temple in Bengaluru belongs to the Bengaluru unit of the ISKCON Society.
A bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice on the review petition filed by ISKCON India and others, and sought a response from the Bengaluru chapter of ISKCON.
The earlier bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka (since retired) and Justice Augustine George Masih, by its May 16, 2025 judgment, had set aside the May 2011 Karnataka High Court ruling that had entrusted control of ISKCON’s Bengaluru temple to ISKCON’s Mumbai chapter.
The dispute over the control of the ISKCON Bengaluru temple between the Mumbai and Bengaluru factions was revived after a two-judge bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Augustine George Masih delivered a split verdict on October 28, 2025.
While Justice Maheshwari, admitting the review petition, agreed to hear it in open court and issued notice to the Bengaluru faction of ISKCON, Justice Masih dismissed it, holding that there was no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit warranting reconsideration of the May 16, 2025 judgment.
Following the split verdict, the matter was placed before the Chief Justice of India, who constituted a three-judge bench to consider a batch of review petitions, including one filed by ISKCON India.
In a statement issued today, ISKCON India said that a three-judge bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma has issued notice in its review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s May 2025 judgment, which had declared the “defunct” ISKCON Karnataka Society as the owner of the ISKCON temple in Bengaluru and other related temples and trusts.
Founder Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada himself registered ISKCON in India at Mumbai in 1971. During his lifetime (1971–1977), he opened eight more temples in different parts of India—Vrindavan, Mayapur, Delhi, Hyderabad, etc.—all of which legally functioned as branches of the 1971 Mumbai Society, in accordance with his instruction to have only one ISKCON society for the whole of India. Today, there are 531 temples across India, all functioning as branches of ISKCON India (1971 Mumbai), the only ISKCON unit in the country.