The Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association has objected to Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait allegedly removing a Hanuman temple from within the compound of his official residence, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.

The lawyers’ body, in a letter dated December 23, wrote to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna seeking an investigation into Kait’s alleged action, which it deemed as an insult believers of sanatan dharma, a synonym for Hinduism.

Previous chief justices of the High Court, who were from the Muslim community, had not objected to the temple, the group pointed out.

They also said that the official residence was government property and that periodic maintenance of the temple had been done with government money “because most of the Chief Justice and employees who believe in Sanatan Dharma have been living in the bungalow”.

“Therefore, they do not have to waste their precious time by going far away to perform their religious worship, hence the said temple is a very important means to make life happy, peaceful and beautiful,” the bar body said to Khanna.

Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association President Dhanya Kumar Jain told Bar and Bench that Kait’s adherence to Buddhism might have been the reason for his action.

“It’s good that the judge follows Buddhism,” Kumar said. “We have no issue with that. But removing a temple like this is not right.”

The bar association’s letter also expresses concern over the move’s implications for a legal case in which a lawyer has called for the removal of all temples from police stations in Madhya Pradesh.

The letter sought that directions be issued to Kait to recuse himself from the case.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended Suresh Kumar Kait, a senior judge of the Delhi High Court, for the post of chief justice in Madhya Pradesh in September.