This appeal seeks to challenge the order of the learned single judge dismissing the writ petition filed by the appellant, under Article 226 and Article 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

2. The case of the appellant is as follows:-

The appellant, a 39 year old man, is said to be the Pontiff of the Shree Samsthana Gokarna – Shree Ramachandrapura Mutta, Hosanagara, Shimoga. The Mutta is said to have been established by the revered Shree Aadi Shankaracharya, about a thousand and three hundred years ago, at Gokarna, Kumta Taluk, Uttara Kannada District. He is said to have ordained a disciple, Shree Vidhyanandacharya, as the first Pontiff to manage the Mutta, the appellant is said to be the 36th Pontiff in the unbroken line of the Guruparampara of Shree Aadi Shankaracharya.

Shri Gokarna Mahabaleshwara temple at Gokarna was managed by the Mutta. With the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, having been enacted, the temple is said to have been notified under Section 23 of the Act in the year 2003. However, it is said that on the representation on behalf of the Mutta, to the effect