New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to consider a public interest litigation seeking, for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, the right to establish, manage and maintain their religious places like Muslims, Parsis and Christians, LawStreet Journal reported.

A bench led by the Chief Justice of India, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, told advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who filed the petition in his own name, that it could not entertain a matter containing general prayers, according to LawStreet and The Law Advice, which reported the same hearing. "What are these prayers? Can these reliefs be granted? Withdraw this petition and file a petition with prayers which can be granted," the bench told the petitioner.

The bench said that under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, every religious denomination already has this right, and described the plea as a matter of policy. "We are not going to direct the government to do x, y, or z in terms of religious places. That is a matter of policy. We will not enter the legislative domain," the bench said, adding that the petitioner could move Parliament or the government.

Upadhyay submitted — as his claim in the petition — that about four lakh temples are under government control while no mosque or church is, citing Delhi's Kalka temple and Jama Masjid as examples, LawStreet reported. That figure is the petitioner's submission, not a court finding.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the petitioner may have a case but the way the petition was drafted was not correct, according to LawStreet. The Law Advice reported that the court left open other connected petitions seeking a uniform endowment code and gave the Union time to respond in those cases.

Sources: LawStreet Journal and The Law Advice, reporting the Supreme Court hearing on October 21, 2026.