Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has ruled that there is nothing wrong in the Endowments Department intervening when a mathadhipathi (head of a religious math) fails in managing its affairs and safeguarding temple lands.
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka delivered the judgment while dismissing a petition filed by Arun Das Udasin, the Mahant of the Sri Udasin Math in Hussaini Alam, Hyderabad.
Court upholds Endowments dept order
The court upheld the October 14, 2009, order issued by the Commissioner of the Endowments Department appointing an Executive Officer (EO) to oversee the math.
The order was passed after serious lapses were noticed in protecting 540.30 acres of land belonging to the math at Kukatpally, which had been under its possession since the Nizam era.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that an EO can be appointed only when irregularities or mismanagement of properties are proven, and since no such charges were pending, the decision was unlawful.
On behalf of the Endowments Department, counsel Bhuvkya Mangeelal Naik submitted that despite the land being worth thousands of crores, the math authorities had entered into lease agreements with Indian Detonators Limited and IDL Chemicals for 99 years, even before the lands were included in the prohibited list.
Later inquiries revealed that the land had come under the possession of Gulf Oil Corporation Limited, contrary to the original lease terms.
EO appointment in wake of Lokayukta inquiry: Endowments dept
The department stated that the EO’s appointment came in the wake of a Lokayukta inquiry, which exposed grave irregularities in the handling of math affairs.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Bheemapaka observed that mathadhipathis are expected to devote themselves to religious activities and should not deviate into real estate or commercial ventures.
The judge held that when irregularities occur in the management of religious institutions, intervention by the Endowments Department through the appointment of an EO is justified. Accordingly, the petition filed by Sri Udasin Math was dismissed.
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