ADESH SHIVAJI NARKE Vs. DNYANESHWAR MAHARAJ SANSTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has approached this Court assailing the judgment and order dtd. 5/12/2024 passed by the President of Shree Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan, Alandi, Pune, who also functions as the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Pune. The said order was passed below Exhibit 16 and Exhibit 31A in Persona Designata Civil Suit No. 1 of 2023, whereby the learned President was pleased to allow the application filed at Exhibit 16, thereby dismissing the suit filed by the petitioner, and simultaneously rejecting the application moved at Exhibit 31A.

(2.) The relevant factual backdrop, as presented by the petitioner, is briefly set out hereunder:

(3.) The present dispute concerns the manner and procedure for the appointment of trustees to respondent No.1, a public trust, namely Shree Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan, associated with the sacred Samadhi of Saint Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, Alandi. The legacy of this holy site is one that spans over seven centuries. Historically, the temple and its endowments have been under varying regimes. Initially, the Peshwa Government had granted an inam village to the temple for its sustenance. Thereafter, the administration passed successively into the hands of the Scindias of Gwalior and subsequently the East India Company.