PAGADALA PRATAP Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CONSTITUTION of the Trust Board of Sri Kalahasteswara Swamy Devasthanam, Srikalahasti, Chittoor District, vide G.O.Rt. No.313 dated 20.02.2009, is under challenge in these three writ petitions. As such they were heard together, and are now being disposed of by a common order. Since all the trust board members are arrayed as respondents, and the Minister for Information and Public Relations, and the Principal Secretary (Revenue), Government of Andhra Pradesh, (against both of whom malice is alleged), are arrayed as respondents eo-nomine in W.P. No.3622 of 2009 it would suffice, for disposal of all these three writ petitions, if the facts in W.P. No.3622 of 2009 are noted.

(2.) AS the annual income of the Sri Kalahasthiswara Swamivari temple, a Section 6(a) religious institution, exceeds rupees one crore the State Government, which is the competent authority to appoint a board of trustees, under Section 15(1) of the A.P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act (Act 30 of 1987), issued a notification in G.O.Rt. No.2355 dated 05.11.2007 inviting applications from interested persons for appointment as non-hereditary members of ,the trust board. W'P. No.20269 of 2008 was filed questioning the procedure prescribed by the Government, in G.O.Rt. No.2355 dated 05.11.2007, for appointment of trustees to the Srikalahasteeswara Swamivari temple. This Court, by order in W.P.M.P. No.26459 of 2008 dated 26.08.2008, suspended the process of appointment of trustees observing that the Government could issue a fresh notification duly following the prescribed procedure. Thereafter the Government issued the notification in G.O.Rt.No.2121 dated 18.11.2008, in supersession of G.O.Rt. No.2355 dated 05.11.2007, inviting applications from persons interested in being appointed as trustees. The said notification was published in the local newspapers on 05.12.2008. Pursuant thereto, 114 applications were received by the Government. These 114 applications were forwarded to the Commissioner of Endowments, vide memo dated 27.01.2009, for causing verification of their antecedents. The Commissioner split the 114 applications in two batches. While 97 applications were sent, vide proceedings dated 10.02.2009, for verification of antecedents to the ASsistant Commissioner of Endowments, Chittoor, the other 17 were sent to the ASsistant Commissioner of Endowments, Rajahmundry.

(3.) THE Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Chittoor, in his report dated 18.2.2009, stated that he had visited Srikalahasti and had cause discreet enquiries on 17.02.2009 and 18.02.2009; he had issued a paper publication in "Vaartha" daily on 18.02.2009 making the applicants aware of the proposed enquiry; and he had also verified the antecedents of persons who were not residents of Srikalahasthi. In his report dated 18.2.2009 the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Chittoor records that, at the time of verification of antecedents of the applicants at Srikalahasthi, he had received applications from three persons, two by hand and one by fax, and that he was also forwarding the verification report of the antecedents of these three applicants. THE said three applications include the application of Sri M. Ravichandra Reddy who was appointed, under the impugned G.O, as one of the trustees of the temple. THE Assistant Commissioner, Chittoor also records that in response to the paper publication dated 18.2.2009 24 out of 98 applicants had appeared before him at the time of verification of antecedents; he had verified the antecedents of all the 98 applicants, including the three new applications, as per the procedure laid down under Act 30 of 1987; he had conducted discreet enquiry on the antecedents of the individuals in accordance with the procedure prescribed under law; he had verified the lease records and the DCB of the temple in order to ascertain whether any person, among the applicants, was the tenant/lessee of the temple, and whether any office holder, who was getting remuneration from the temple funds, had applied for trusteeship; and he had received a joint representation on 18.02.2009 from certain applicants protesting against the exercise being undertaken for verification of antecedents.