Hanuman Janmabhoomi Dispute: Supreme Court Refuses Urgent Hearing As Karnataka HC Re-Lists Matter Post Verdict

The Supreme Court today declined to entertain an urgent oral mentioning made before it concerning the Hanuman Janmabhoomi dispute which has been decided by the Karnataka High Court.

The matter was mentioned before the bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi as the counsel appearing in the case sought urgent intervention, as the Karnataka High Court has listed the matter for hearing after it reserved judgment in the matter and subsequently pronounced it in open court.

"The judgment was reserved and pronounced in the open court. After pronouncement, the matter is suddenly kept tomorrow for rehearing," the bench was told.

To this Justice Nagarathna responded, "Karnataka High Court follows a procedure commonly known as “being spoken to”....let the high court deal with it.."

The petitioner argued that once a judgment is pronounced and signed, the court ordinarily becomes functus officio, a legal principle under which a court ceases to exercise jurisdiction over a matter except in circumstances specifically recognised by law.The Bench pointed out that the Karnataka High Court follows a procedure commonly known as “being spoken to”, under which a court may clarify, correct or address certain issues arising from a judgment.

The controversy arose in 2021 from competing claims over the birthplace of Lord Hanuman, after the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh and the Sri Hanumad Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust in Karnataka each asserted that their respective sites were the deity’s birthplace.

The TTD maintained that Tirumala’s Anjanadri Hill was the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. It constituted a committee comprising scholars and researchers who examined Puranic literature, archaeological material, inscriptions and other historical sources. Based on its study, the committee concluded that available evidence identified Tirumala Anjanadri as Hanuman’s birthplace.

The Sri Hanumad Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust asserted that Anjanadri Hill near the UNESCO-recognised heritage region of Hampi in Karnataka is the actual birthplace of Lord Hanuman. The Trust constituted a separate panel consisting of Vedic scholars, historians and scientists to examine scriptural texts, inscriptions and historical records. The panel relied on references in texts such as the Skanda Purana, Varaha Purana, and Brahmanda Purana to support its claim that the region associated with present-day Hampi was the birthplace of the deity.

The dispute was further complicated by a third claim advanced by the Ramachandrapura Mutt in Karnataka. The Mutt contended that Gokarna, located on the state’s coast, was the true birthplace of Lord Hanuman.

Bench: Justices Nagarathna and Bagchi

Hearing Date: June 22, 2026