In a historic decision of the Patna High Court, it was decided that the Vishnupad temple located at Gaya is a religious trust of public nature and not a private trust. The management and day-to-day care of the temple are the responsibility of the State Religious Trust Council and not the Gayawal priests.

A single bench of Justice Sunil Dutt Mishra gave this decision while rejecting the second appeal of Vishnupad Bhagwan and the Gayawal priests on his behalf.

The High Court also decided that the thousands-year-old Vishnupad temple and the pilgrimage site around it, called the Gaya area, have been visited by Hindus since time immemorial for the salvation of their ancestors.

Due to this, the spiritual benefit of the said temple and pilgrimage is available only to the general public and not only to the Gayawal priests living there. In view of these circumstances, Vishnupad Temple is a public trust.

The High Court also ruled that Gayawal priests have the right to conduct puja in Vishnupad temples, to perform Pind Daan for Hindu pilgrims visiting there, and to take Dakshina in return. With this decision of the High Court, the 46-year-old legal battle over whether the Vishnupad temple should be private or public has come to an end in the state.

It is noteworthy that in the hearing of this second appeal, the Valmiki Ramayana, Mahabharata, Agni Purana, Vayu Purana, the biography of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore (who built the present Vishnupad temple), and the first district gazette of Gaya, which was published during the British Raj were used as documentary evidence.

Senior advocates Kamal Nayan Choubey, Rai Saurabh Nath, and Manjari Nath appeared on behalf of the appellant priests. Senior advocates Ganpati Trivedi, Shekhar Singh, Mohit Kumar and Aishwarya Shree presented the side of the State Religious Trust Board.