Shirdi Baba controversy reaches SC

The controversy surrounding worshipping of Shirdi Sai Baba reached the Supreme Court on Wednesday after Saidham Charitable Trust, which manages various temples in Maharashtra, sought direction to the Centre to restrain people from making derogatory statements against the “godman”.

The petitioner sought direction to the government to restrain Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati and his followers not to make any statements against Sai Baba. Shankaracharya has asked his followers to remove the idol of Sai Baba from the temples across the country.

The case was mentioned before a bench of Justices A R Dave and U U Lalit, but Justice Dave recused himself from hearing the case due to personal reasons. The matter would be posted before a different bench.

The trust, through its chief trustee Ramesh Joshi, also urged the court to initiate appropriate legal action against those who have defamed and insulted Shri Sai Baba through print, electronic media or social media.