SHRI SAIBABA SANSTHAN Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Civil Application No.5846/2023 has been filed by Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust Shirdi through its Chief Executive Officer seeking permission of this Court to implement resolution No.277 dtd. 12/4/2023 of its ad hoc committee constituted pursuant to the interim arrangement devised for managing the affairs of this renowned trust, which is headed by the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ahilyanagar as an ex officio chairman, of which the District Collector, Ahilyanagar is one of the members, constituted pursuant to the final order passed in the PIL, till the State Government constitutes Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Management Committee in accordance with the provision of Sec. 5 of the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi) Act, 2004.

(2.) Mr. Bajaj for the applicant - Sansthan would submit that the ad hoc committee in its meeting dtd. 12/4/2023 by way of Resolution No.277 has decided to evolve the modalities for resuming offering of flowers to the deity. He would submit that the decision has not been taken abruptly or arbitrarily but after considering the report submitted by a committee headed by the District Collector which was constituted for considering all the pros and cons of resumption of the practice which was stopped because of enormous complaints by various stakeholders including the devotees who were being extorted for buying the flowers at an exorbitant rate. Several miscreants had entered into the business and even offences were registered. In the wake of pandemic, the practice of offering flowers was stopped. There was an agitation for resuming the practice and after due deliberation and objective scrutiny from different angles, the modalities were worked out in the form of detail suggestion of the committee headed by the District Collector and its implementation is now being sought by passing Resolution No.277.

(3.) Mr. Bajaj would submit that it has been decided that the flowers would be purchased by a credit co-operative society being run by the employees of the Sansthan directly from the farmers and which would be sold through it in the premises of the temple at a reasonable rate.