MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Tuesday permitted a bunch of south Mumbai residents to approach the appropriate authority in the Central or State Government or even the Municipal Corporation of greater Mumbai (MCGM) to seek a declaration of Vithal Rukumai temple site at Thakurdwar in Girgaum, Mumbai, as an ancient and historical monument of National or State importance or for its inclusion in the list of heritage buildings and heritage precincts.
Shaila Gore, 64, a housewife and three other residents from the four persons from Thakurdwar area in south Mumbai had in 2014 filed the petition in public interest. They were seeking protection of the temple saying it is over 200 years old and cannot be demolished for a redevelopment project. Their lawyer S K Halwasia contended before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor that between 1888 and 1897 AD, Chaffekar Brothers, the revered freedom fighters used to visit the temple, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahadev Govind Ranade and many others used to visit the temple and its been mentioned as an ancient temple in books.
