Dismissed

G.Anand v. The Assistant Commissioner,and 8 others

Telangana HC15 Sept 2023CMA/917/2019

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The court dismissed an appeal against an eviction order under the Telangana Endowments Act, 1987. It held that the institution was a temple, that the long-standing possession of the respondents became that of encroachers after the automatic cancellation of tenancies under Section 82, and that the Assistant Commissioner had jurisdiction under Section 83 regardless of registration or classification.

What the court decided

AI extract

G.Anand Vs The Assistant Commissioner,and 8 others — Landlord and Tenant | Telangana HC (2023)

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[32161

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IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD

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FRIDAY,THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE M.LAXMAN

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CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS APPEA L NO: 917 OF 2019

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Appeal under Section 88 of Ap Charitable and Hindu Religious lnstitutions and Endowments Act 19g7, against the Judgment dated 30.04.2019 made in O.A.No.S3 of 2010 (Otd O.A.No.153 of 1999 on the file of the Court of the Deputy Commissioner, Endowments Hyderabad, on the file of the Telangana Endowments, Tirbunal, Hyderabad.

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Between:

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pAlan!, S/o Mallaiah, Aged about 56 years, R/o. H.No.2_8_48/3/3, Macha Bollaram, Rangaredrdy District

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...AppellanURespondent.

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AND

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The Assistant Commissioner,and B others, Endowments Departments, Rangareddy Diskict

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9ir Radhakrishna Swamy Temple, Macha Bollarbm, Rangareddy District, Rep. Uy it's tVianager.

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G.Krishna, S/o Nayani Muthaiah (died per LRs)

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G.Srinivasa, S/o G.Krishna, Aged about 32 years

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G.Nagaraj, S/o G.Krishna, Aged about 28 years

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6 ,SJt c, Subhdhra, w/o G.Krishna, Aged about 60 years (Hespondents lto 6 are Residents of House No.e_70, Machabollarani, Malkajgiri Village, R.R. Districtj-

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7 Smt. G padma,, V v/o Late Nagulu Late Nagulu Aged about 59 yearsyears

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L smt. K. Ramani K. Ramani Ramani

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v/o Late Nagulu Late Nagulu Aged about 59 yearsyears

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L smt. K. Ramani K. Ramani Ramani n^{j;::+#.:nHf$t,f.f} y}ii"3,.f,,!iig,,.ii,!;,ry,,n

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n 3#; i f ?1! ili #i",. Ry# [.:T,fl #,r"",*:,f H Bt I;.1i, * "

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"'Respondents/Appellants/Respondents.

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(Respondents 3 to 9 are n"t""""'

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counser for the Apper"n ,ENKATA RAGH, MANNEPALLT counser for the Responott^{"^''}

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ent No.l: SRt^r:t MANOHAR R.Ao,

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rhe court made the rorowins: ,r""r:::'Endowmen..-

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['t{r

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HONOURABLE SRI^{JUSTICE M.LAXMAN}

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CIVIL MISCELLANEO^USAPPEA L No.917 of 2OL9

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JUDGMENT:

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l. This Civil Miscellaneous^{Appcal is directcclagairlst thc} orcler datcd 30.O4.2OLg^{in O.A.No.53of 20lO (old O A No' 153 ol} 1999) on the file of the^{Telangana Endou'mcnts Tribunal at} H1'deraLrad^{(herein alter referred as Tribunal belol')' wherein} zrnd whercby the^{application hled by applicantsrespondent} Nos.1 and 2 herein^{for evictionwasallowed anrl thc rcspondent} Nos.2 to 8 therein^{were orderedto evictlrom tllc subjcct land in} S,v No.91 to an^{extent ofAc l1O gLlntas siruated at} Machabollarm^{village of Malkajgiriviltage'}

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Appellant is respondent^{No.S and responclentNos- 1 and 2} are applicants and^{respondent Nos 3 to 9 arc respondent Nosl} Lo 7. For the sake^{of convenience,the ranks of the partiesas} rcfcrred in the O.A^{is maintained.}

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.^{Originally the applicants have hled an application before} the Deputy Commissioner^{of Endowments, Hyderabad seeking} relief of declaration of^{respondent No 1 as encroacherand lor} rcmoval o[ such encroachments.^{During pendencyof suchOA'} rcspondent No.1 dicd and legal^{heirs of respondent No'Iic} '

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\lt.r

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rcsp(.,11(l(,n Nos.2 to 4 ucrc brought on re,<;or-ri. Al_tcr constitrrlii,:t of Dndou,mcnr^.l.ribunal, tl.rc procr..i,rirngs \.(.11. transf'crrcrl lo Enrlou.ment Triblrnai. Wlrile the O.A rrlrs 1;ending be ltrn' thr. F}clou rncnt Tribun:rl, respondcr.rt Nos.5 to g u crc impJcuclcrJ.

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4 . Thc czrse of the applictrnts is that thc 2nd applic. rn t is thu templc ancl it is tltc or .ner of thc land covercd in S12.N6.91 5o ,,,, extent of .\c. 1 . 1O guntas situated at Machabollar_arrr (hercir.r aftcr rcfcr.tr:d to irs^.subject land). Such land has been in posscssion OI rcspondent No. I for nearll, 15 yeerrs and hC dcfaultecl r. p.r)'rncrt of reasc amount. Rcspondenl Nr. r maclc an applicirrion to the authorities claiming that hc, is in

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posscssiorr ol subject land for the last S0 years and hc developcd t hc land rvith his own funds and expressed his intentior-r to purchase the land for the market value.

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5' A dctaired enquiry has bcen conducted by the :,Luthorities under the Act and the same is revealed that respoltdcrrt No. l has becn cnjo-ving the possession of the tempre lzrnd since several ycars r'r'ithout paying any lease amount and hc becamc defaultcr. FIe ltas not developed such land and the letnrl is not fit lor cultivation. However, it is being used for passagc through such land a,d he is raising unauthorized structures thcr-e on.

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F I I

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\1t .1 |r. L) t^r l0l()

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w'
t'{/

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ln spite of^{r('qLlest to vacate the l'incl, there was no respotrst' ln} thc saicl circltmstances,^{OA is lilecl'}

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Conscquently,^{rcspondent Nos 2 and 3' u'ho are sotrsoI} respor-rclent^{No.1 filed counter claiming that thcir grarld-lathcr} Mutl'raiah^{u'zrs ttre teuant o[ subject land and after his dcath'} thcirfathcrsucceedcdsuchrightandhehasbecnirr continuous^{possession tillhis death' Furthcr' it is statcdthat} rcspondcnt^{No.2, r'r'hois Math and not a temple'their anccstors} have been^{payingthe lcase amountto M' Narsing Das u'llo u'ns} managing^{thc Math and he n'as doing poojas After deatl-rol-} Narrsing^{Das, his ChelanamelyDeepak Das was managingthe} Mathancltheleaseamountswerepaidtothem-Aiter appointing^{the Executive Ofhcer to the2nd applicanL'the} Executive^{Ofhcer permitted the occupant of the land lo spend} the amount^{tor daily poojas and they are in possession for the} last 5O^{to 60 years. The Revenue records reflectedtheir names} and they^{are not.encroachers'}

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Respondent^{No'8 filed counter claiming} .that^the2"'t applicant^{institutionis the Mathand not the temple and their} forelathers^{dedicatedtheirlives to serve the Math by performing} various ceremonies.^{The 2'd applicant, who is the owner ol} subject^{land and the Math was in Sy No'54and the Mahanths}

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of thc Math perlttiltc.l thcir [orefathcrs to culLir,:rtc Lhe Iand. The-r' are in ltc,rrnissir, c posscssion b-r, rcndcring sr:l_r,iccs to tltc institutiolt. As 1t<:t. tht, Rcvcrtut: records, tlte-v u,c.rc slrown Lo bc thc pr otcc Lr-c lcnitt.tts.

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8 'r'hc appJic:rr-rt, ill slrpport of thcir case , exanlncrl pws. l and 2 :rncl r-clicd uyron Exs.A I to ,{4. Rcspondcqr_s c>iaminecl RWs.I to 3 and relicrl upon Exs.B I to I))T.

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Thc Tr.ibunal bclorv aftcr apprcciating thc evrder_rce on record founcl that thc land in question is the templc, larrd and the respondcnt Nos.2 to g 21.q encroachers and consequently, directed thcm to lcavc the encroachments. Aggrier<,d by the same, the prcsent :rp|;r'ar is at tirc instant of respondelr t No.g

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1O. Hcarcl lcarned counscl fcrr the appellant and learned counsel for the rcspon(leu [s.

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I 1. The corltcntion o[ learned counsel for respondent No.g is that the 2"d applicant rs not the tcmple and it is the Math and there is no notillcation pcrtaining to the present lancl u,der Section 6 of tlie Telangana Charitable and Hindu I?eligious Institutions ancl Enclot,ments Act, 19g7 (the Act, lgg1). Therefore, the Assistar.rt Commissioner, Dndowments has no jurisdictior-r ovl,r fhe lands of Math-. Learned counscl also

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w {,, /../

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F! ,i,

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)

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contended that therc^{is no prior notice treatingthe encroachcr} as :r c{efattller in^{paymento[ rentAccordingto hirn' the person} u,ho is in^{possession isnot atenant and he has beenin} permissive possession^{and his status cannotbe designated as a} tenar t. It is^{zrlso contendedthat the Tribunal was n'rong in} treatir-rg the^{rcspondentsas encroacher withouithere being} exislet'rce of trnv^{landlord and tenant relationship between thc} applicant^{Marh and the respondents Therefore' such Iindings} required to^{be set aside.}

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The Government^{Pleader representing thetempleand} Standing counsel^{representingtlte 2"d applicant has contended} that admittedty^{the subjectlands are owned by 2"a applicant-} Thcy denied that^{the subjectland is Math' It is alsocontended} that the^{possessionof respondentNo 1 was not the permissive} possession ancl^{such possession was by virtue of tenancyand} such tenancy^{has been ended withoutpaying rent'Therefore'} respondents'^{possession became possession of encroacherand} they are^{liable to be evicted. It is also contendedthat the Act'} 1987 is applicable^{to registeredand unregisteredtemples and} the Assistant^{Commissioner dehorsethe notificationunder} Section 6 of the^{Lct, 1987, it is empowered to takesteps under} Section 83 of^{the Act, 1987 for evictionof encroacherslt is also} contended that by^{virflre of Section 82 of the Act' all the pre-}

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exlstlng tcllants werc abolishcc{, ant.persons is in lrossession of land of irrsritution or temples, thercalter, withou t freslt lease or encroachcr-, thcy arc Iiable to bc evictcd.

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I3. In the light of tl_rc said contentions, the followrng points for considcr.ation:

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1 Whcther the 2ntrapplicant is thc Math or Templc?

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1. Whether the respondents are cncroachcrs of subject

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lands?

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1. Wherhcr the applicants are endtled to m;rke an

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application for evjc tioni)

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Point No.1:

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74.1.

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74.1. Ex.Bl6 is extract of Seclion 43 Registcr of the temple. Ex.B16 shows that the institution is referred as Radha Krishna Balaji Temple / Matham. From the extract of Ex.B16, it is not clcar- u.hether thr) institution is Temple or Math.

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Section 2 (17) defines Math, which reads as under:-

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Section 2(t7);^.math, me instirution p.esided lca, 1,"".. hinA 9v "'0"i""",-il,;:':H;,llli:,::1^,-i"^,: and nropagar;6,,' .. i,1-^{I uurv rs} ro^engage himselt in rhe reachrnss u,,d ,t ilo.,,.r,l'#,I:n?^1i"l1sion "nd phiiosoph) or rlrc r'rr,(i.rr)rnlnalroni sect or sampracld-va to which r1n -uth b.i,;^:' ,,,a ro' n'ni ;;' ;..ij:1 f,", 11, lll li'^p.:l:l "* rerisiou s insu,,cr ion i;: ifr'"=';I';i:"..':;l';lf:;llill;',i:1"I ili,:i".,::;il;::,:i ,,-,,n ;n g ; r,.L,u," ;;,flil:; :1",1:_i::;, ;1:::i,, insrc, on,,r

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Section 2(2Tl d.efines Temple, which reads as under:_

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SccrLon 2ll7) Templc, r knorvn usrir ,. . ;;;;; ;i'^1.:: " pra' n b; rrh rtever de5 ro, or ror rhc bcnefir,,rri3":,-.:l]n"J'"ff;::".";':.-.L[:i communirJ ur cny se, ,,o. ,I' _ "l-"^rs oi ,.ghl by the llrnoLr rvorship an,t i".r,la". -rl ,:i:,:.r' "' 'r^pla' r ot publ" ."r,gioL,. rd nks .nd o'n", ;".;-,, ; ;;;;,"il ::H:;,,,.,ji11 i:,::";"".

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..fu.---

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Section 2(23) clctincs Religious institution, which reads as

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Lindt:r

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Sectioil 2 (2.3): Ilcligrorrs institLltion'rneans a math, temple or spr:r:ific en(lo\'rnent and inclttdes a Brindavan, Samadhi or anv oth('r institution establishcd or rtaintained for a relrgiou s pLrrl)os( ;

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l4.2 A reading ol the definition of Math, the Math is also a Ilinclu religious lnstitution and it is presided over by a person, u l.rose principal tlutr. is to engage himself in tcaching and propagation o[ HindLr religion and philosophy or the teachings and philosophy ol the denomination, sect or sampradaya^to u'hich the math bclongs and such math includes any place or places of religioils u'orship, instruction or training which are appurtenanl lo lhc inslitullon.

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14.3 A templc is defined as a place of public religious worship, and dedicated to, or for thc benefrt of, or used as right by the Hindu communit5r or any section of Hindu community^as a public religious l orship.

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14.4 The rcligious institution may be either Math or tem ple

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14.5 A coinjoint reading of the above three provisions, the rcligious institution is genus and thc ternple and Math or the

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place ol such iltstitution is sp(,cies r\c1n'ritLcdl-r.rl is a Hindu religious in slilu t io t.r.

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74.6 Sccrion {3 of thc Act, I9g7 rcfe rs trust(,e or al-l-. person ir.rc'lrarge o[ Manage,rc.t .[ sut:h r-eliqi.us l.stitution . make trn trpplication for rcgistration of institr-rl ion to the Assistant Comm_issioner rvrthin 9O d:rl s ll_orn t lte date of commencerncltt of the Act, tgg7. If srrr.l.r rnstitutjon is establishc<l lrncl founclccl subscqrrcr-rth, rr.ithin 90 cla-r,s lrom the datc of sucll [ounding makc an apltlir__atior.r lor r<-,gistration. Section 43 (S) cnables tht: AssistanL Ccmmissi.ncr of Endowmen I cause an enquirr, of such applicatron and after hearir-rg both tl,re parties conccrnccl, p::rss an appropr-iatc order directing its registration. .lhc Asststant Cornmissioner concerned rcqulred to maintain thc rcgister u,ith regard to temples registered under Section 43 (S) of the Act, 19g7. section 43 (7) requires the regrstcr sha be dividect inro two parts. The llrst part belongs to charitable institutions and endowments and the seconcl part is relating to rc,ligious institutions artrl endowments. Broadl-v speaking, thc n:gister contains religtous institutions zrnd cndou,mcrll. Wt: are concerned witl-r this part which is cither the Temple or Math and they fall undcr rcligious institution. Thc registcr onl.v rerlects the names oI r-r,ligrous institutions; iL is subjected to rcgistrittion

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[ .] .|rr^qll llrl9

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()

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at thc instancc^{of applicants. If thc trusteeor personin charge} of management^{failecl to make an application'Scction43 (1i)} enables tl.re authonties^{to proseclltesuch trustee or anvperson} in charge of management^{and is liablefor fine Even'Lhesame} pror,iso makes that^{if informationfr-rrnished, is foundto bc false'} such person is^{also liable lor prosecution and liable to be} convicted ',vith line.^{Section44 ol the Act, 1987 enablesthe} Commissioner^{to orderthc rr:gistration of institute whetherany} application is^{hledor not.}

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74.7 [n the present^{case, there is no evidenceon record} to show that^{the registration of the 2"d applicantwas done at} the instance of^{Commissioner'sdirections by exercising the} porver uncler the^{Act, 1987Thismeans, the institutionshould} be rcgistcred^{under Section 43 of the Act,l987at the behest of} trustee or a^{person in charge of managernentSuch evidenceis} lacking in lhe^{present case and no steps havebeen made by} either party^{to Urlngsuch evidence The other revenuerecords} also show that^{it is designatedby the institulion as a temple' in} fact, such^{entries have no relevancy' It is to be made fromthe} evidence on^{record whether such institution is temple or Math'} 1S rclevant^{to refer Section45,} A.A In this regard,^it which reads hereunder:

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Se.rrurL .lJ: Application in rnake an .r,# r" l"i",".^{t",qttgt" c ntrv or} omission to (i) Anr Pn1 s,,r, .r,..r.ri..d,r ,,. an enrrr qr om 15"r;,, ;;;r:;;:r, - uncer secriorr ,J ,,,o, .,unr.'',"11^ ll' 'l'"^{re! sr"r} rr"'r',,'.rrre,l mortrrr.ario, ..:,,, ;i, ;[], : .ltt^{llrrLi11'1o11 111' t,t'} I l hr rrrt^I o|L,r ,r,,i (,,,,8,r)," maki,g,or^suJ;,,',,,i,'^,., . i,",1 ;"T:,:ll ,:l I/i urr rer(.rlrt .)l rhe the lJllnco\r,cnts Triburrall -".', "ii.r'",".j-.-]Pt'^11'tn l.reccssanr, p.i" ",,"t, .r.a"l'rltt...:t'tu^{crt'lurr'</sup> .rs nr.1 bc: pass-d shair, ,,,r,,,1, i i"',r,JL-']rlJ trt rr docpl rt flt- or "r'si, final: anrl ,,l" or.i", r r," J" j,,.llo"1"'"""^{oI sulr se't r1,1r1} 1. 1r" in rh. resisrer ,,;.;;;;;"; .i 'il''"sror'r'r^sr,rii -,rrrn,,i 16,.^',.,.,- rh(:r'e\'rrh. tttder t'"'^ttott 4 l rt' .r,, ", r,,,aa (.lJ Where ar.[, suLit a crarrrred by rho appticanr ,,, .".?l']i:o'i(,"^{ri lar. s r', ,tre} ig;rl rh" i,En,i;,v;;;il':i;il1,1",i::o:d^{or su.r, enr,\ ,r} .,,n,, rorr. quesrion as if ir r|cr" Ji,.',,,,in"'1.:'],urrc^rr)lo '11'l^qieniiln 1j1q 87 arra rne prorr ;;;,;":,:.'rr;;;,*_ll,l],lli;^;l;[ ,, r ,r se,^,trr}

¶101

74.9 A reading of the ab.ve pro'isio.r, it is clcar [h:rt an' person aggrieved by an entn. in the rr:gistcr n-raintaincrl under Section 43 of the Act, l9g7 may appl_y to thc_ Endou,ment Tribunal for modifrcation or annulmcnl of such entr_r., or for clirecting the making of such entry. When tl,rcre js incorrect entry in the register and when the respor.rdent rs aggricved by such entry, lhe appropriatc Course opcn to lrrnr lo nr rkc an application undcr Section 45 of the Acr, 19g7. .l.he rcspondent cannot agitate without exhausting the rernedy uncler Section 45 of the Act, 19g7. Theretore, this Court acting uncler Sectron g3 o[ the Act, l9g7 cannot there being .,, uppri",till ;" ."",":"- :, il:,, :"; u.ith regard to entry made in the register. Therelore, lhis point is answered aeainst the appellant/ responder-rt No.g. consequently , tbe 2nd applicq4t-is_ treated as temple.

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a^- r;q-\1.r r..;;;i: , -i-:nrtli..,

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¶105

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Point No.2:-

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15.1 The <:laim ol the appellant / resPonder.rt^{No.8 is tl-rat} their forefathers .zrnd thcv are llot tenilrlts^{ovcr thc subjcct land,} but Lhey are in pcrmissivc ltossessiotl.^{WlLcn thel' are in} permissive possessior.t rvithottt there being tenal)cy,^{the qucstion} of default of pavment of rent docs not arise.^{On the contrary,} applicant has contendcd that the^{respondentsare not clear} whether they are tenatlts or not. One branch^say that^{thcy are} tenants, other branch czrnnot sa]'that^{thevare not tenants.}

¶110

I5.2 The evidcncc of RW.I and 2 and^{Ex.B2 show that} the land is Koul Mafi Inarn.^{'l'his means Inam with tenancy.} The counter pleadings of RWs.2^{and 3 shos's that subject lands} are tenancy lands and in fact,^{they claim that thcy werc paying} rents to Mahanths and after^{appointmentof the Executive} Officer, he has not been receiving^{the rent.They havebeen in} possession for more than 5O 60 years.^{The appetlant/} respondent No.8 also claimed that their^{forefathersare in} possession of land for more than 5O years. According^{to them,} they are in permissive possession. Respondent^{Nos.S to 8 were} impleaded white the proceedings u'ere^{pending be[ore the} Tribunal. Respondent No.7 has taken^{different stand. Even} reading the rvhole avcrments of^{respondentNo.8,thcy made} clear that the forefathcr._I... in occupation^{of such land and}

¶111

\ti ! r,^./l- fl|r L)

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thc]' ut:R: tulldering services to thc insililLltion. ID tlrc light ol suclr irvcr.mer.rts, thc dr:lirrition of .lcasc,it.rs [o b(, co; r s jr]c r_c,rl. Scction IOS of Transfcr of proper_tv Ar.t dcllnes Lht_ ]_ea,sc. rr lt it:ir rca<ls It r:r-c rr rtrJcr: -

¶113

S.ection lOS. Lease deli rrrur)er\ ,.,,o r..,.,"i"]-lt. ;:l:i ^i^l',rsr'. ot ,r.,r,o^ar,.,. l',r ir .c.din f i-., .^ira."l"r ro cnJ,,t str,h pro1,"1r1. ,,,",,., , ,)rrsr(i, r,lrion "f " ,;;,.;'^{..l,lt.llr.fl,.,r} ,,, ,,, p",1,^,u ,i''', , silar(. ol .rOpS, Scrvtcc .:' ,^{"' l.,Iollllsc(i, orOJ',ItOrl...} r( r),1(.r1 /t -i-i"ar'"ili'' ^l' :ll ' ^_.,],:: trrirrg or' *, ,,.',,i ,.,1 r''rrrsf'r',.'i u. tt. irinJr"i"..lt'""'t'"'t orcasi.rr5 1, 11,,, su('lr Ier.ms. \lto ac.eprsi tl,e t,r,,al", ,r,

¶114

,,.^.. , ,^{,,".*,1.,[essec,} ltrerni i,l:llll",::,^{is r.arrerr,;,,"'i;J";y,".,and ,,.,,r d..ri,.,,rh} .,.::l ,,,. prrce is ,.,rlterl t,,.r. I h_c _tr.;rrsl.r..r- ;; ",,i,;, iii: ,ill,;,^{"' ..-,..} ". "ii,.,';;;;s"^{;,li',T'l;li,,,} 1,?.1,,1, _ ;j::i, l;) :

¶115

l s.3 71 rcading of the abovc dcfini tion, a lea se r>f

¶116

rmmova ble prolrer{r is a transler of right to

¶117

lorccrt:lln limc, exprcss or implied or_ enloy such lrrol)et_tv, rn lterpctuih.. Srrt.lr clrjoymen t mllst be for consicleration of pricc paid or pr_or;risrrri or of moncy, a share o f crops, service ot' any othcr t hing Of valuc. Thc pleadings of respondent No.8 shorv th:t t thcirforefathers ancl they are enJoylng the property; therelbre, lirs t rcquirenr(.nt is complied. The plcadings also sho*. tha t thcr u'ere rendering seruices to the institution In the present ca se, servrce is consiclered as a consideration for right of cnjoymcnt.

¶118

Thr:re is lr:tnsfer of such right by allegcd Mahants to the respondents, forelathers. .lhcrefore, respondents ls based on icase. the possession of Lnc The lca se also inr.oh_r s

lI ..i

NJ L.] na 917 2019

) II

pcrmrssrve possession. Therelore, the contcntion ol learned connsel for respondent No.8 that the responclcnts, forefathers and respondents are not teltants has no legs Lo stand_ On the contrary, the other branch ol their ou.n clcarly admits that thev are tenants and their forefathcrs are also tenants. The revenuc records also show that the nature of possessiorr is as a tcnant-

¶125

15.4 There is also no dispute that the land.in question is inam land. In this regard it is relevant to relcr Sectiotr 82 of Endowment Act, which reads hcreunder:-

¶126

Section 82i (l) Any lcasc ol ae cultural land belongin.: to leasc of Agricultural [-ands, or given or endorved fbr thc purpose oIany institution or endownent subsisttng on thc date of cornnrc cemeDt oi rltis Act sllall, notwithstanding anything in anl otltcr lau, lor the timc bcrnq iu force, held by a person who is not a laldless poor Derson stand calcellcd_

¶127

(2) In respect ofleases of agricultural lands olbcr lhan those Ial)ds situared in Municipal and Municipal Corporations held by landless poor persou for not less than six years oontinuously, such person shall have the right to purchase such lands for a consideration o[ sevelly five per-centum cf the prevailing market value of similarly situatcd lauds ar the time of purchase and such consideration shall be paid in four equal instaLnents in the rnanner prescribed. Such sale may be eflected otherwise than by tender-cum-public auction: 2[Provided that if such small and marginal farmers who are hot able to purcluse the land s,ill continue as at least t\,o third ofthe market rent lor similarly placed lands as lease anrouut.

¶128

Ilxplamtion lj- For the purpose of this 'sub-section 'landless poor person, means a person whose tota[ cxtcnt of land held b1, him either as owncr or as culhvating' tenant or ils both does not exceed l.0l 1715 hectares (trvo and half acrc) of wet land or 2.023410 hectares (five acres) of dry land and whose monthly income other than from such lands does [ot exceed thousand rupees I per mensum or twelve tlrousand rupecs per annunr_ However, those of the tenant who owt residential property exceeding t\r,o hundred square yards in Urban Area shall not bc co;sidered as landless poor lbr thc purpose ofpurchase of endowments property.

¶129

Explanation I[:- For the purpose of this sub-section, small and marginal farmer mcaus a person rvho being a lessee is lrolding lands ,, exces's of acres 0.25 cents of wet land or acrcs 0.50 ccnts oi dry land over and above the ceiting lirfits -af acres. 2.50 wet or acres 5.00 drv land respectivcly they may be allowed to co[tinue in lease subjer t to payment

¶130

¶131

\IL.I ! riJ^!)l- 'ol9

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I I

¶133

II l ;tII I i I I I

¶134

of J,3rd rrfprevailins marl(et reDt ,r,",r,.." ri,i,".i,"iiffi;;'ffil:*lLes\ rJrrll Lclcl 1r rr ' rr'1,'|'c il,,r

¶135

(i)'lhe authority to vnction lhc lcasc ur lrrenec il rcrpcit of anr_ lrr,'l(tl<sup>, r .rrlr ri}]llr.,r llltcrrst tlrrrc,,n bclOrr;.rrr: , "a,.i\ ",I ,I, ,r...f ];,ll :,]:-.l,llr,l'"^{ofalIcharirablcor.etigious rn\rlulionor} crr.i,rvnrcnr r'.' nr3nr.r ,r 1\ hiclr dnd the periorl rbr rvhich such r""r., ., r1.. ,..'.i"rr [rr' .u!]t J\ ul,)\ be prcs.ribcd.

¶136

(l) Irvcll lca:c ot licence of anv runnovablc pr(jl)crt] othcr tiran rhc 13rr.Lrlruial 1,,".I Lrir",,a,ri,.,, "dx) .rr.,,^{rr,l,.,,r,"ri;i",.i,,.i,,,,J,:l"IH":lxl:i::l:;l,li,:,.:;lT:.r""i.,:,1} llt. ..'r11111, 11.i,,,,.,,, oftlrs Act. ,f,rff .:"rrirr" ,.;:;;; ,:'i::'lr,ll: :1".,,r. 'lri-. jr: nt,rr llc prescribed under sub {cclrot) ( J ) (1.)_ thc pro\rsions of thc Andhra pradcsh (Andlua Arca _-lcnauiv Acr. ittih crrcj rhr. ,\ndlrra pradcsh (Telar ;,11.,..',, i 1ii,r""r,',fi illJ ;T;;';:^T:l lil fiilJl.):l ; ; lill , 'r I,1,,'<sup>.llo,r\(..1 I r t(, t tt J. l,,r dcl tlte led nuqlosc tn lhis Ofanv Act clralrtable ", ,.t,0,,,r.-,,,.,,,",i ,-u.-,, 5.5 A rcading of above provision, it is clear that the provrsiolts of Andhra Tenancy Act and Tclangana Area Tenancv :rncl Agricultural AcL shall not apply to any lease or land belong to or given or enclowed for the purpose of an,v charit:rble or religious institutions or cndowment. Further, the sairi provision abolishes all lcase of agricultural land subsisting on the datc o[ commenccrrent of the Act TggZ notwithstanciing an.ything in a,y other larv. onry rights of such a tenancy.are saved s.,hcn thc holdcr of such land is landless poor. By virtue oI such provisior-r cxisting tenancy was put to an end. It is not the casc of the respondent that they are landless poor. Therefore. thcy cannot sav that thcy continued to be tenants not[,ithstanding thc cancellation o[ such preexisting rights by virtue of Scction 82 of thc Acr, j gri7.

¶137

\t I^I rrnir^()ll 2(,1',

FFH

15.(r

It is apt of refer Section^{83 o[ the Act, 1987, u'hich}

¶142

rcarls l'rere under: -

¶143

ScctitrLr S3: Encroachllcuts^{by pcriortsoulan,l ot-brrildilgbcl<rngingttr} charrtablc or rcligious institutiorr^{ttr cttclo\mctrfand llle(i\ iction ot} cncroachcrs

¶144

(l) \:hcre the Assistant Comnissiortcr-^haring Jurisdtction^cllher\trlr llrotu L)r ulpn a contplaint^{rnadc b1'the trustcchasreasonttr bclievetlllt} any person has encroachcd^{upon (hercaliertn tltis Chaptcr rclerrcd to 3</sup> 'cncroacher') any Iand. building. tllk. rvcll, sprittg or water-coursc^{or anr} spacc belonging to the^{institutiotl or clldo\nlcllt'whcrevcr situatedor} deemed as an encroacher^{uoder arl)' oltltcprovisionstrl thts Acl, tllc} Assislant Commissioner^{shallrePorl the lact togetherrt'ithrelelant} particulars to the 3 lUndowmcDts^{[rtbulal]havingjurisdictitrn overthc} division in which thc institutior^{or cttdQwntentrs situatedI \plaration:-} For thc purpose of this^{Chaptertllc cxptesslonencroachcr' shalltucart} any person who unauthorisedly^{occul)Yanylarldor buildrrrg} "r^{space anrl} deirned to inctude any^{person who ls rlt ()ccupation of tlrclrtndor bttilclng} or space without^(hc approval^{ol-thecolrPetcot authoritysanctionnls} lease or mortgage, or^{liceuce aud also a persorl !'ho co tl ucslo rcmaln} in the land or building or^{spacealterthe ctpiry or lcrrllination(jr} cancellation of thc^{Icase,mortgage or liccuce irespcct tltcrL)l grantcdt'l} him or it.}

¶145

(2) Nhcre, on a^{pcrusalof thercporr reccivedby him undcr subsectton} it1,^{rhe 3lindowrnents Tribunat]tindsthat ther. is a pntna lircie case ol} encroachment, 4[it]^{shallcause to be scrved upontlleencloitcl)cfa notlcc} specifying the^{particularsof the encroachmcntandca[[ingo0 him to sho'!} "o.,"e^{b"io.e.it certain date why an orderrequiringhim kr rclrovcthe} encroacfunent beforc the^{date specificdin the notice should notbe madc'} A copy of the noticc^{shall also be scllt to thc trusteeof thc trrstitutior or} cndowment concemed.

¶146

(3)^'lhe notice refened to in^{sub-scction(2) shall be scr'"cd insuclt} manner as may be Prescribed.

¶147

(4) trVhere after considering^{the objections,il any, of lhcencroacher} ieceived during the^{periodspecificdin the notice refcrrcd to insub} section⁽²⁾ and^{after conductingsuchenquiryas maybe prcscribed, th'-} the lEodowments -l nbunal] is satistied that therc has been an cncroachment, 2 [it]^{may,by ordcr, require,lheencroacher(o remove tltc} encroachment and^{deliverposscssionof theland or buildirrgorspace} encroached upon to^{the trusteebeforethe dalespecifiedin suchorder-}

¶148

(5) The order of the lLEndowments^{Tribunallunder sub-section(4) shall} be in sriting and shall^{contain thegrounds on t'hichhe haspassedthe} order.⁽⁶⁾ During^{the pendencyol-theproccedings,thc l[lindowments} Tribunal] shall order the^{encroachcrto depositsuch amountas maybc} specified by 3[it] in consideratron of^{theuse andoccupation of thc} properties in question in the manner^prcscribcd.

j(,

,ri\ l0 J').r

i I t I T tI i I

J -\ rcading ol ar bovc pr()vlslot1, it is r.lt:rrr. that t l-rc AssistirnI Cornrnissiorrcr l-rar.ing jurisdrction oy(,1 th(, ar cit, u) u'hrclt tirt- r)stitution is exists eithcr suo lllol. j orullon zl c--or:rpl:rin ( tn;rrlr: by lhc lrLlstee that alt_!. person i)a(l cncroitclrcd ulfolt :t1t\ lrutd belong to iltstitution or (]ndo\,rIr,1) t, thcr.:rre cntitlcrl to ni:rkc a complaint for Endow'ment Tr.rl rp11sl Tl'r e cr-rcroachcr- Ir.rs beert defincd in explanation undcr-Sub_section I of Scc'riorr ,S3. The cr_tcroacher includes atlv pe rsor.t \r,ho tlllaulhorizc'(lh occup.. all.y Iand or a person q,ho cellinucd tcr rolrliun tlrt: lzrnrl irfler cxpiry or terminatio n or oartr cll:rtion ol thc lease, ctc:., previoush, .qranted to hirn. In the 1;rr.se nt casc,

¶153

I he llolic(, of l t:r.rnination is unn,arranted Section g2 of thc act, \rit 11 thc c()ntr r)oltce men t of thc Act, 1gg7, carrct ls :rll thc I)l-e-exrsru)r. lcast,s of agrictrltural lands except the leasc cxisting in f:rr.orrr of l;tnrlicss poor.. Therefore, thc contentjor_r of thc Icarned colrnsc.l jirr appcllant / respondent No.g that titere lr,its r)(, r)otir.c cilh(.r. rcl.minating tcnaxcy or. demanding i .rc;rrs r)f

¶154

rcn t requircd ro be rcjccred. This Court fincis t hat the respondents atrc t'rrcroaclters even though their possr:ssion is iong stancling b.r' virtue of cancellation of tenar rcy b.y l.rtrorlucLion ol.scction g2 of the Act, 19g7. The.Tribunrrl rightlr four.rd that thc:rplrt.llant is thc encroacher.

¶155

@ Ire::r^{:E:re:?q-.ffiE:-:c4&-l} RF*'./

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I I

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\II.I cnrr^(ll- lll^l()

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¶159

Point No.3:

¶160

Section 6 of the^{Act, 1987 requirespreparation and} I(r. 1 publicatior-r of^{lisr. of charitablc and Hindureligiorrsinstitutions} o11 thc blrsis^{ol lncome. Broadly five categoriesol institutior-rs} hrrvcbecndefirlcclbasingontlreincomctheygelleratcd,T}re first caLcgory^{is the charitablcinstitutionsarrdEndor'r'mcr]ts'} religious institutions^{and Endowments other than Math's'hose} annualincomeismorethanRs,25,OO,OO0/-'itcomesundcr'A' classltrstitrrtions.ThesecondcateEloryisaboveinstitutions irrcome other lhan^{Math whose income exceeds Rs'2'00'000/-'} but not t'xceeds^{Rs.25,0O,OOO/- they are classifiedas 'B'class'} The institutions^{and endowments other than Mathnot falling} under'A ernd^{B'classes were falling under'C'class'The Maths} ancl Darmadayas^{were classifiedunder'D and E'classes} respectively^{irrespective of tlleir income'}

¶161

16.2 Section 8^{of the Act, 1987 defines powers and} Iunctions of^{Commissioner and Additional Commissioner'The} Commissioner^{andAdditionalCommissionerhave general} superintendence^{and control to pass appropriate ordersto} Cnsuretheinstituteorendowmentsareproperlyadministered or their income^{duly appropriated,for rvhich they werefounded} or exist. Apart^{from the generaljurisdiction'his powersarc also} extendcd to^{the institutionsclassihed as A, D and E' class}

¶162

¶163

\ . .i crr,i^{,,1 ,} l0I'r

¶164

lnstltuti()ns undcr Sectior) 6 ol.Llrc Act, 1987 artd ltc can zrlso delegatcs ('r'r lit u) po\.CrS tO tltr: Assistant C,tmrrtissiorrcr. Scctiorr lO clcllncs rhc po\:ers and functir.rns ol. Dt:put-), Comrniss jor rc.r.^.lhc Dr:pu t1, Cornrnissioner hokls pou,t,r irt respe(_-t oI insltlution or t:r,rdou.ntcnts classifieds ;s 'B'class. Scction l1 cicfrrrcs thc l)ot{rel's and functio4rs ol. Assistirnt Commissioncr-. ancl his functior-rs extcnds lo ,C, class institution:;.

¶165

16.3 Prepar:rtiorr:rrtrl publication of instirutions unclcr Scction 6 o;- Llrc Ar:1, I 9g7 is base d on the income. Thc purposc ol^ such clirssific:rtion is cffr,ctive adrninistration and trl sLs 1hzl1 thc inconrc of srrclr institutiUrrs are appropriated for thc pUrposc for which lltcr. rvclr loun<Jccl or exist.

¶166

16.4 Scctirin 1.5 of thc Act, 19g7 enable the Gor.entment and other ;tuthor-itics to :rppoint Board of Trusties irnd thesc appointments are also bascd on the incorire. If the institution is earning incr.,rne exct:cding onc crore ar_rd institution is listed in class A' o[ Scc tiotr 6. T,hc Covcrnment shall appoint Iloard of I rustrcs r.or:sistirrg of l4 pr,rsons. If the incomt. oI the institution is from Rs.25,00,0OO/_ to one Crore, the Dartnika Parishad sh:rll constitute thc Board of trusties consisting <>f i4 persons. Witcr.c the rns tir rncomc is Rs.2,OO,0O0/ up ro

¶167

,tia!1- 1_rlstata. -^-^_ tbstisr--

¶168

't L.J c r.r ') I^I l0 l9

¶169

¶170

Rs.25.00,OOO/-, the Commissioner^{shall appoinr Roard of} t rustics cousistirtg ol 7^pe rsons and^{institutions wl-ietllcr the} ir-rcomc is lcss tl'ran lls.2,OO,00O/-,^{the Deputv Commissioner} shall consLiturc Boatd ol Trusties^{consistingol fivc pcrsons'} 'I'hcsc classifrcations also give the clue that the classilications are basecl on ittcomc^{generation are to have control over the} institution by the people^{fromthe downto helmof aflairs for the} efiectivc acl rninistration and^{to implementthe purposc, for} vvhich srrch institution is founded^{or exists. Thc purpose of} such classification can^{alsobe seen from Section25 of the Act,} I987. ri'l-rich enables^{fixation o[ Dictumand the Iixation of} Dictum in the institution^{and the arnount spent for ceremonies} ancl services ancl the^{observance offestivals tothe} Commissioner, Depul-y^{Commissionerand theAssistant} Commissioner based on^{the income generated. This is intended} to have the effcctive administration^{and Supervision Section83} of tl're Act, 1987 is a diflerent^{provision. Similarly,Section43 is} also stancl alone, These^{two provisions clearly showsthat it is} the jurisdictional Assistant^{Commissionerwho is competent} authority designated there^{under to dischargethe functions} relating to said provision. The criteria of incomc^and classilication of temples are irrelevant for the^{purpose of} exercising pouer undcr Seclion 43 and 83 of the^{Act, 1987.The}

¶171

)

¶172

UL,I .I raⁱ⁾ Il l{ll9

¶173

authorirics there ulclcr-thcmseh.cs startd alone rnrlependcnt of ary othcr 1;ro'isio..^'fherelbrc, tlte colrtcntio. that thc Assistant Corlrnissioner h:rs no juriscliction has no merit. This can be tested in other rva,r.. Scction 1 (3) ol the Act. l9g7 is relevant, l,hich is hereundr:r:

¶174

S.ctron l: i.I

¶175

(3) lt applies t,r

¶176

(a) all pubhc cltarirahle instrrutrons au<i e[dowurenls- $hether rcgi:tcred or not. m accordalcc u,ith Prrlrsions of this Act, o,fr", iir., Wakfs goveuicd b\ 1h!' pr(\ rsx,os ol' Llrt \,akt.s AcL 19 j.1 1'C"rirrl ,L"f 29 ol l9-5-1).

¶177

Erphnati,tn: In rhri tl,rLr.... lhL. c\prrslr)n,,pubiic charrtable illstttulions ind cnLkr!'n-IcII' slr,rll rrr.ludr cr r-ry charitablc iltstilulto or etrdorvnrent thc adnlilusll.atlL)D of rvliielt rs titr the tir . bctDg \csted i[ ally a"p"nrna", of Govemrnclr. or Crvil C ourr. lilla l,r.r;r prrishad- lf unrcipuf lty o, ..,*,a. Iocal aulhorit!. or au! c()rrpirt,_ :!ocic1\ .isani\atiou. insti;tioll;r;t;;r pers(rni . (h) all Hrndu prrblrc religiorLs rustrtutions and endou,rnents $4rether regis tcrcd ol l)o t in aacordaDcc rvr th Ltrr provisions o f th rs Ac t.

¶178

16.5 A reading of Lhe above provision, it is clear that thc Act applies to public rcligious institution, endor.ments or charitable institutions and endou,ments whelher registered or unregistered in accordance rvith the provisions of the Act, 19g7. The contention of learned counsel for appellant that ir.r order to exercise jurisdiction undcr Section g3 of the Act, lgg7, publication of such institution undcr Section 6 of Act, 19g7 is not merited. The Assistant Comrnissioner is competcnt to take any action to protect the properties of the institutions, whether t hey are regislered ()r not_

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¶180

IE=E,,

¶181

\1t .J clllr^\l l- ll)19

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16.6

¶184

Stclion 14^{ol the Act' 1987 also gives stlmeclttt: on}

¶185

this aspcct,^{s ltrch reacls hereunder:-}

¶186

\eutlo[ I I \ I'llog^{ol lll} |rol)erlrt'^{rtr rlte in'trlution or endo\rment- All} propcttic. hclrrrrglng "''^{t'' g'i'"n} 'rr^cnJ' '\'cd,lLr^{a,charitalllcor rcligious} -t1tu11' ''"tt in lhc charitable or religious rrr';tituti,,rt '1r^{.rldo\rrr'r)t} rrtrtitrrtitrrr,'r^{tndorvlttirtllli thc clicmaybe}

¶187

As sce n from^{scclionl4 ol the Acl' 1987' it is clear that} all the^{prop('rt ios bclongingto' orgiven orcndowed toa} charitable^{or rcligior-rs Inslitutionor endowment shall' vest u'ith} such institutiorrs^{by virlueof the Act, 1987' Such vesting is not} depending^{on 1[]c registrationof temples or institutions under} Section^{43 ol Lhc Act, 1987' Tl-rcrefore' this Court feels that the} registration^or l)ubliciltion^{of institutions is not requirement to} take actron^{untlcrSecti<tn 83 ol'the Act' 1987'}

¶188

16.7 The other^{contention raised by learned counsel for} responclcnt^{is that thc institutionis Math;as sllch the Assistant} Commissioner^{has no jurisdiction'The Commissioneralone} has^{jurisdictiontotake steps for evictionof any institution'} This contention^{has no meritThe Commissionerhas power} overtheMatl-rsforerclministrationandsuperintendenceand control ovcr^{theMathadhipathisand for} elfective superintendenccandirdministratior-rtoseethattheptrrposefor which tl-reY^{rvcrcestablished'}

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I I

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\it I ( r|,r '/l- llllt)

¶192

16.8 Tl-rc dclinitior.r oI rt,ligior,rs inslitu[ions inclrrdt,s templc and Mal I'r. [t is Lhc AssistlLltt C()rnntissr()rlcr l lro irlor.rc is having po.u,er t() take actic,ns trnrlcr. Sr.ction g.j ol thr A(.1, 1gg7 in respcct of inslitutions classificcl urrder A r:l:rss to ti class of Section 6 of thc AcL, t 9g7. St.r.trorr ttil ol. rht, Act, l,)87. itscll stands alonc. . The designated oll.icer alonc crnpou,cl s L() tal{c action under SccLion g3 of tltc Acr. 19g7. Therr.lorr:, thc contention that thc Assistaut Co rtrntissio ltc r lt:rs no.lLrt.istliction has no merit and tl're samc is li:rblc, to I;r: disnrissccl. .J.h<rrefore, appeal is devoid of merits and liirble tr,r lx: clismissecl.

¶193

Accordingly, Civil Miscellancous Appc;rl is cisnrisscd. There shall be no orcler as 10 (.()sls. Miscr:llancorrs apnlir.a tions if any shall stand cancelled.

¶194

To,

¶195

Sd/- K. Srinivasa Rao. JotNT BEGtsrRAi //TRUE COPY// (fo SECTION'OFFICER

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