2026 INSC 191
Civil Appeal Nos.7181-7182/2016 Page 1 of 10
NON-REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NOS.7181-7182 OF 2016
OGEPPA (D) THROUGH LRS. AND OTHERS
…. APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
SAHEBGOUDA (D) THROUGH LRS. AND OTHERS
…. RESPONDENT(S)
J U D G M E N T
PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, J.
1) The present lis before us is a protracted dispute spanning over a
century, wherein the respondents/plaintiffs and the appellants/defendants
lay competing claims to the ancestral pujari rights and the right to perform
puja of the deity Amogasidda – a saint who passed away 600 years ago and
his Samadhi was built as a reverence at the temple situated in Mamatti
Gudda, Jalgeri, Arkeri, Karnataka. The core controversy centres on who
amongst these feuding families constitutes the hereditary wahiwatdar pujari
entitled to conduct the religious ceremonies, receive the offerings from
devotees, and hold the annual Jatra celebrations at the said temple. For
convenience, the parties shall be referred to as per their original status
before the Principal Munsiff at Bijapur in Original Suit No.56/1982.
2) The trail of facts before us unfolds as thus: The genesis of this long-
standing dispute dates back to 1944, when deceased Ogeppa
Biradar/predecessor-in-interest of the appellants/defendants along with
others filed Original Suit No. 88 of 1944 for possession of the suit te...