Rajasthan High Court
Honble B.S. CHAUHAN, J.
Temple of Thakurji Village Kansar - Appellant
Versus
The State of Rajasthan & Others - Respondents
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3897 of 1994
Decided On : September 30, 1997
An idol/deity can fall to both the classes i.e. a minor as well as a physically disabled or infirm person and the manager or the State is under an obligation to protect the interest of such a minor or disabled person. No person can acquire khatedari rights in the land belonging to a minor. The object is laudable and based on public policy and, therefore, the deity cannot be deprived of his property by such a transaction, which has fraudulently been entered upon by the Pujari himself. (Para 8)
(2). The facts of the case as revealed by the record of the case are that in the Revenue Record particularly, relating to settlement of Samwat 2009 the land in dispute measuring 256 bighas and 15 biswas was shown in the name of Temple Shri Thakurji, the present petitioner, and one Shri Mangha Ram son of Nand Ram, predecessor in interest of respondents No.4 to 7, was shown as the Pujari and care taker of petitioner temple and was looking after the land in dispute, as is evident from Ex.1, issued on 21st June 1945. It is also revealed from the said Ex.1 that Shri Mangha Ram had made a statement before the Competent Authority on 24th Feb. 1945, that the said Temple of Shri Thakurji was very old and the land in dispute was the property of the petitioner temple and being Pujari of the temple he was looking after the said land. It appears that Mangha Ram, pujari had manipulated Revenue Record and was shown subsequently as khatedar of the land in dispute. After his death, respondents No.4 to 7, inherited the land and they executed the sale deed of the said land in favour of the respondent No.2 and 3 on 19.6.1967 and 5.6.72. On behalf of the petitioner, a case was filed before the Additional Collector, Sri Ganganagar, Respondent No.10, being case No.75/83 which was decided vide order dated 16th August 1988 contained in Ex.2 to this writ petition. Relying upon the order dated 27th May 1967 passed by Addl. Collector treated the land in dispute as personal land of said Shri Mangha Ram. However, it is also relevant to mention that respondent No.10 has observed in the aforesaid order that in the settlement record of Samwat 2001 i.e. 1954 the land was shown in the name of the temple and it was cultivated by Shri Mangha Ram being pujari of the temple and it was also shown in Samwat 2030-2033 in the name of the temple. However, the learned Additional Collector held that the transfer made in favour of the petitioner No.2 and 3 by the respondent No.4 to 7 was valid as respondents 4 to 7, being successors of ManghaRam inherited khatedari rights, which had been acquired by Sri Mangha Ram Pujari.
(3). Being aggrieved and dis-satisfied, the present petitioner filed the Appeal No. 251/88 before the Revenue Appellate Authority which was allowed vide order dated 15.12.88 contained in Ex.3 holding that there could have been no justification for passing impugned order dated 16.8.88 for the reason that the Land Settlement Officer, Bikaner, vide his order dated 21.6.73 recorded the petitioner temple as khatedar of the land in dispute. There had been dispute regarding settlement in Samwat 2043 in respect of the said land and it was decided in favour of the petitioner temple and if khatedari right was recorded in the name of the petitioner temple in 1945 and it was continuing, Mangha Ram, being pujari of the temple could not have acquired khatedari rights at all. For giving such a decision, the Revenue Appellate Authority held that deity being perpetual minor was incapable to look after its property and the pujari was looking after the same and being a care taker he could not have acquired any right or interest in the said property. Therefore,acquisition of khatedari rights in the land in dispute by Mangha Ram Pujari and trans- fer of the same subsequently, in favour of respondents No.2 and 3 by respondents No.4 to 7 could not be justified by any means. Transfer in favour of respondent No.2 and 3 was contrary to law and thus, the appeal of the present petitioner was allowed.
(4). Being aggrieved and dis-satisfied the respondent No.2 filed the appeal be- fore the Board of Revenue which has been allowed by the Board vide order dated 10.6.94 contained in Ex.4. Board of Revenue held that the case before the Asstt. Colle
2. Bishwanath and another vs. Sri Thakur Radha Ballabhji and Ors. (AIR 1967 SC 1044)
6. Jai Jai Ram Manohar Lal vs. National Building Material Supply
7. M/s. Ganesh Trading Co. vs. Moji Ram (AIR 1978 SC 484)
8. Collector, Land Acquisition
11. Udit Narain Singh Malpahariya vs. Member
9. Noorduddin vs. Dr. K.L. Anand (1995(1) SCC 242)
10. State of Punjab vs. G.S. Gill (1997(6) SCC 129)
12. S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu vs. Jagannath and Others (1994(1) SCC 1)–Relied on
14. Andhra Estate Financial Corporation vs. Gar Re : Rolling Mills (1994(2) SCC 647)–Relied on
15. State of Maharashtra and Others vs. Prabhu (1994(2) SCC 481)–Relied on
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.