The State cabinet sub-committee on the Sri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah issue will hold a public hearing at Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner’s office in Chikkamagaluru on February 7.
The Department of Religious Endowment has sent a notice to Ghouse Mohiyuddin Shakhadri, hereditary administrator of the shrine, informing him about the meeting. This would be his last chance to present his case along with relevant documents before the sub-committee, the notice said.
The State Government constituted the sub-committee with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy as head on October 5, 2021, following Karnataka High Court’s direction to relook into the issue afresh delivered on September 28, 2021. The committee met in Bengaluru on January 6 this year. Shakhadri had sent a letter to the committee stating that he could appear before the committee due to ill-health that day.
M.L. Varalakshmi, the undersecretary of Religious Endowment Department, in her notice to Mr. Shakhadri, said the cabinet sub-committee which met on January 6 decided to give one more and final opportunity for Mr. Shakhadri to submit his statement. He has been asked to attend the public hearing scheduled at 10.30 am at the DC’s office.
