VALLABHARAYESWARA SWAMY TEMPLE Vs. BELLAMKONDA VENKATA SUBRAHMANYA SARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Civil Miscellaneous Appeal arises out of Award dated 17 -2 -2012 in O.A. No. 1442 of 2010 on the file of the A.P. Endowments Tribunal, Hyderabad (for short the Tribunal).

(2.) THE concise facts leading to the filing of this appeal are stated hereunder:

(3.) THE Managing Trustee of the Temple i.e., Jalasutram Venkata Subbaiah, filed a counter -affidavit opposing the application filed by respondent No. 1 before the Tribunal. He has denied the claim of respondent No. 1 that his fore -fathers founded the Temple on their land and with their own money. He has further pleaded that that the Property Register of the Temple approved in the year 1959 by the Deputy Commissioner of Endowments, filed by respondent No. 1 mentioned that Bellamkonda Venkateswara Rao was the previous Trustee; that the Deponent has been in management of the Temple for the last 48 years; and that Garuda Vahanam and Hanumantha Vahanam were donated by Bellamkonda Venkata Subbamma w/o. Kesava Rao. It was further pleaded that as per the recent amendments made to the Act by way of Act 27 of 2002, respondent No. 1 has to prove that the Temple was constructed by their ancestors in their own land and with their own funds without collecting any donations and that respondent No. 1 is the agnatic descendant of the founder and his ancestors were recognised by the competent authority as the members of the founder family. While pleading that respondent No. 1 failed to satisfy the provisions of the 1987 Act, as amended by Act 27 of 2002, the Managing Trustee of the Temple sought for dismissal of the application.