JODHPUR, July 11 -- The Rajasthan high court on Thursday served notice to the state government in a writ petition by a Bikaner resident flagging illegal activities at a "temple" near his property, which housed a coaching centre. Justice Sameer Jain observed at the hearing that the legal point under contention was whether "in name of a temple, any person can establish a religious building/room at any place contrary to the provisions and mandate of the Rajasthan Religious Building and Places Act, 1944; whether in the name of God, touching the religious sentiments, encroachments can be done at public places." The plea was filed by Rajendra Prasad Mittal. The bench directed additional Advocate General SS Ladrecha to accept notice on behalf of the state government. According to the petition, a building apparently functioned as a temple outside the petitioner's workplace. It alleged that alleged regular consumption of narcotics took place inside it. Mittal submitted that he had approached the concerned authority regarding the matter, but no action was taken. In addition, the bench also directed concerned local authorities to submit a report clarifiying whether the petitioner's act of renting out the disputed property to a coaching institute operating in a residential area was legally permissible under the applicable law. The bench observed that it was under a prima facie dubiousness regarding the operation of a coaching institute, which falls within the scope of educational and commercial activity, in a residential building. It directed the concerned authorities to submit an appropriate report before the next date of hearing and ordered the concerned officer to remain personally present with the relevant report. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 23, 2026....