A KASAIAH Vs. SRI JRAMARAMBA MALLIKARJUNA SWAMI DEVASTHANAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sri Bhramarambika Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanams, Srisailam (hereinafter referred to as the 2nd respondent temple) is a well known and famous shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva and Devi Bhramarambika. This Temple attracts devotees from all over India and even abroad.

(2.) It is an admitted fact, on all sides, that there has been a manifold increase in the number of devotees visiting the 2nd respondent temple. This has caused overcrowding and congestion in and around the Temple area. The streets laid out earlier are unable to cater to the rush of devotees. The problem gets even more aggravated during the festivals, especially during the Shivaratri period. It is also an admitted fact that there is every danger of the physical safety of devotees being affected on account of overcrowding and the huge press of people during the time when the procession of the deities is taken through these streets.

(3.) The 2nd respondent-temple, having realised the pressing need for a drastic overhaul of the entire area around the temple, had come up with the proposal, of decongesting the streets around the temple area, by widening the main streets and by opening spaces around the Temple. This required the removal of a large number of structures. However, the bottle neck for these plans, are the structures which are in the possession of the existing tenants on the Rathasala Post Office Road and the Patalaganga Road. It was found that there were 156 shops/plots/canteens and 14 godowns aggregating to 170 structures, which were required to be removed. These structures are lining the main streets and the said streets cannot be widened unless these structures are demolished. To do that, the existing tenants need to move out of the structures. The 2nd Respondent having realised that evicting these tenants would be a time consuming process, had come up with a scheme to persuade the existing tenants to hand over the possession of these structures at the earliest.