Gokarna: As per the order of Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court's order Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada S S Nakul on Wednesday, took charge of the Mahabaleshwar temple in the coastal town. He will now be the Chairman of the Temple Monitoring Committee.

The temple was handed over to Sri Ramachandrapur Mutt of Shivamogga in 2008 by the then Yeddyurappa-led BJP government. A section of the devotees had raised objection to the handing over and approached the High Court of Karnataka, reported the Hindu.

The commissioner along with Additional DC Suresh Itnal and Kumta Assistant Commissioner Lakshmi Priya took stock of the temple's valuables and also asked for the temple's bank and property details.

Deccan Herald quoted Nakul saying that he was not aware of the confusions that the Mutt has about the court order. The DC said members would be appointed to the committee shortly as per the guidelines issued by the Muzrai Department and police personnel have been deployed at the temple.