THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE M.G.PRIYADARSINI Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No.411 OF 2013

JUDGMENT:

Aggrieved by the Judgment (Award) dated 19.01.2013 (hereinafter will be referred as ‘impugned judgment’) in O.A.No.571 of 2010 passed by the learned A.P. Endowments Tribunal at Hyderabad, the Opposite Party No.2 filed the present Civil Miscellaneous Appeal.

2. For the sake of convenience, hereinafter, the parties will be referred as per their array before the learned A.P. Endowments Tribunal at Hyderabad (hereinafter will be referred as “Tribunal”).

3. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner/applicant filed an application under Section 87 (1)(h) of the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 to declare the respondent No.2 not entitled as Founder of Sri Prasanna Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Municipal Colony, Malakpet, Hyderabad and to set aside the order dated 17.11.1997 in R.C.No.E/5557/1996 of Respondent No.1 as illegal, unjust and in violation of principles of natural justice and procedure of law. The brief averments of the application are as under:

a) The petitioner being a regular devotee of Sri Prasanna Anjaneya Swamy Temple participates in the utsavams by giving donations. The said temple was constructed in the year 1980 in the site of an extent of 710 square yards taken on lease from the Municipality for communal purpose in the colony by the self style committee of the temple headed by one T.S. Lakshmi Narayana and with the donations from the residents of Malakpet Colony among the others. The Endowments Department was pleased to appoint a Trust Board for the temple for two years with T.S. Lakshmi Narayana as Chairman and 6 other members.

b) In the Section 38 Register of the temple under Act, 17/1966 It is clearly mentioned at column No.4 that there is no founder to the temple and only names of non-hereditary Trust Board mentioned. After expiry of the Trust Board appointed in the year 1982, no Trust Board was constituted and the erstwhile self style committee managed upto 1995 by further constructing sub temples of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Sri Venkateswara Swamy in the same premises with the help of residents of the colony particularly with the contribution of Sri Dr. C. Jaganmohan Reddy, permanent resident of Malakpet colony, now practicing in USA. The temple is published at present under Section 6 (c) of the Act 30/1987. In the year 1995, the Endowments Department was pleased to appoint one Mr. T. Janardhan Reddy as Single Trustee of subject temple for two years and after two years, the Department appointed Smt. C. Umareddy, W/o. Dr. C. Jaganmohan Reddy, who contributed money for construction of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, as single Trustee of Sri Prasanna Anjaneya Swamy Temple vide orders dated 24.06.1997 and since then she is managing the affairs of the temple.

c) The community of Marwadies including the petitioners are attending and participating in all poojas, festivals and uthsavams being performed in the temple premises and donating money every time. The respondent No,.2 is behaving highhandedly as if she is only entitled to manage and no body can interfere with the affairs of the temple. No developmental activities are going on in the temple and the bathrooms meant for public/devotees are closed. The respondent No.2 constructed a bathroom in the temple office for her exclusively. The respondent No.2 acted as Founder Trustee by getting illegal orders dated 17.11.1997 vide Proceedings No.E/5557/96 from respondent No.1. There is no institution registered in that name and she is acting as monopolist and managing the temple as if business and harassing the temple employees by not paying salaries in time. The impugned orders of respondent No.1 are not valid after the amendment to the Act 27/2002 and hence the application.

4. The respondent No.2 filed counter and the brief averments of which are as under:

a) Granting of land by the Municipality is of no significance nor this a