The High Court also remarked that if an individual constructs a temple on their private property primarily for themselves and their family, there is no prohibition against allowing members of the public to offer prayers at the temple during festive occasions.
However, the public worshipping at a private temple, even with free access, does not ipso facto indicate that the temple is a public temple, the Court added.
“Neither does the land on which a private temple is constructed vest in the deity, merely because the public are allowed to worship there. What is of essence is the purpose for which the temple was constructed and dedicated to the deity consecrated in it, and the purpose for which the temple has been thrown open to the public. The onus to establish that the temple, though initially privately constructed, acquires public character with the passage of time, is all the persons who asserting.”
Source: Barandbench
