MAHALAKSHMI Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JUDGMENT of the Court was delivered by the Hon'ble The Chief Justice. This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitusion of India for issuing a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the Government of Andhra dated 7-9-1954 applying all the provisions of the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951, hereinafter referred to as "the Act" and the rules made thereunder to the charitable endowments known as "Dharma Devata Satram". One Agadham Suryanarayana Pantulu alias Neelakantha Panigrahi died on 3-10-1948 at Anakapalli...Prior to his death, he had executed a will on 19-9-1948 whereunder after making some bequests in favour of his wife and son, he directed that after his death a choultry to be called "Dharma Devata Satram" should be established. For carrying out the Objects of that choultry, he set apart 4 acres and 29 cents of land. In February 1954 the Government issued a notification under the proviso to Section 3 of the Act indicating their intention to extend to " Dharma Satram " the provisions of the Act. The said notification also gave the reasons for the proposed action. The petitioners made their rep-resentations, but the Government without accepting them made the aforesaid order. The petition was filed for the aforesaid relief. The first contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the institution is a mixed one, and inasmuch as it caters to both the Hindus as well as the non-Hindus the Act is not applicable to it. Section 1 (2) of the Act makes applicable to all Hindu public religious institutions and endowments. Section 2 enables the Government, by notification, to extend the operation of the Act to Jain public religious institutions and endowments. Under Section 3, where the Government have reason to believe that any Hindu or Jain public charitable endowment is being mismanaged, they may extend the provisions of the Act to such charitable endowment. It is therefore clear that the provisions of the Act mainly apply to Hindu public religious institutions and endowments, and if extended by specific notification to Jain institutions and endowments. If the institution in question is not a Hindu or a Jain institution the provisions of the Act cannot be invoked. Reliance is placed upon the provisions of the will executed by Agadham Suryanarayana in support of the contention that the institution caters to people of all religious persuasions and therefore is not a Hindu public religious institution' or endowment. The crucial words on the basis of which the argument is advanced run thus :