KARUMURI PRAKASH Vs. ARYA VYASYA SANGHAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard both the Counsel.

(2.) This petition is filed seeking for grant of leave to the petitioner to file an appeal against the judgment and decree dated 13-8-2001 passed by the Court of Senior Civil Judge, Bapatla in O.S.No.66/95.

(3.) The petitioner is a third party to the suit. The case of the petitioner in the affidavit filed in support of the leave petition is that the respondents 1 to 3 herein filed the suit in O.S. No.66/1995 on the file of Senior Civil Judge, Bapatla against the Commissioner of Endowments Department and other trustees for declaration that the institution Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari Temple Complex situate at Ponnur, as a religious denomination under Article 26 of the Constitution of India, (ii) for the consequential relief of directing the defendants to handover the management of the institution along with its properties to 1st plaintiff, and (iii) for consequential relief of permanent injunction restraining defendants 1 to 3 from ever interfering with the right of the 1st plaintiff to administer the properties of the said institution and its management by not appointing any Trust Board to the institution or in any manner whatsoever; or in the alternative for the consequential relief of directing defendants 1 to 3 to appoint the Trust Board exclusively from out of the members of the 1st plaintiff society and approved by the 1st plaintiff and for the costs of the suit. The Court below decreed the suit on 13-8-2001 and declared the 1st plaintiff as a religious denomination as defined under Article 26 of the Constitution of India and further declared that the plaintiffs have right to nominate its members as trustees for Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Devasthanam, Ponnur. The further case of the petitioner is that though he is not a party to the suit, still he is interested and affected by the judgment and decree of the Court below. He stated that the 1st respondent filed W.P. No.21663/00 to declare Arya Vysya Community as a Hindu Religious Denomination and that they have right to establish and maintain the religious institution with full financial and administrative autonomy. The petitioner by filing WPMP No.24874/2001 got impleaded in the said writ petition and others also filed similar writ petitions. During the pendency of the above writ petition, he came to know through his Counsel that the 1st respondent filed suit and the same was decreed and therefore, he was constrained to file the appeal by way of seeking leave. His case is that the 1st respondent is not entitled to the relief as prayed for, so long as institution in question continues to be registered under the A.P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1987 (for brevity 'the Act'). But the official respondents failed to bring this legal position to the Court below and it resulted in passing of an erroneous decree. He stated that the judgment and decree has got the effect on the entire Arya Vysya Community and he being the person belonging to that particular community, has come forward to question the said judgment and decree. He also prayed this Court to read the affidavit filed by him in WPMP No.24874/2001 in W.P. No.21663/00, along with the present affidavit, to show the nature of his interest, wherein he stated that he belongs to Arya Vysya Community; that himself and his forefathers are the devotees of the Goddess Kanyakaparameshwari and the Arya Vysya Community with the offerings of the community people constructed temple and acquired properties and the Managing Committee is abusing the power and treating the properties of the Sangham as the properties of its members. He also made allegations against the Trust Board with regard to abuse of power. He stated that as the tenure of the Trust Board had expired on 8-5-1995, the Deputy Commissioner of Endowments issued notification inviting applications, as prescribed under the Act and at that stage, members of the Trust Board filed O.S. No.66/1995 and obtained injunction restraining the Endowments Department from appointing any new Trust Board for Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari Ammavari Temple, Ponnur, on the ground that Arya Vysya Community being a Hindu Religious Denomination entitled for protection under Article 26 of the Constitution of India. He finally stated inter alia that as he is affected by the judgment and decree of the trial Court and as there is abuse of the power by the Trust Board and the decree is contrary to the provisions of the Act, he sought the leave of this Court to file the appeal.