SUDARSAN NAYAK Vs. COMMISSIONER OF ENDOWMENTS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the Petitioners call in question Annexure-3, the order of appointment of Non-hereditary Trust Board represented by opp. party Nos. 3 to 17 in respect of the deities, viz., "Nilakantheswar Deb" and "Dula Dei Thakurani" Bije at Kunjar under Pipili P.S. in the district of Puri.

(2.) As per the writ petition, the Petitioners are the hereditary trustees of the aforesaid deities. While the forefathers of Petitioner No. 1 were performing Mali Seba, the forefathers of Petitioner No. 2 were performing Anna/Dhupa Seba of the said deities. At present, the Petitioners are performing the Seba like their respective ancestors as hereditary trustees to the best satisfaction of the public. The father of the Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 Have recorded as Marfatdars of the deities and their properties in the Major Settlement R.O.R. of the year 1966. In the final consolidation R.O.R. published in the year, 1982, both the Petitioners have also been recorded as Marfatdars in respect of the deities and their property. However, opp. party Nos. 3 to 17, influencing the Assistant Endowment Commissioner, Bhubaneswar managed to constitute a Non-hereditary Trust Board being represented by them in respect of said deities and their property without the knowledge of the Petitioners and the general public of the locality, The Petitioners as well as the villagers came to know about constitution of the Non-hereditary Trust Board only on 24.07.2009, when some personnel of the office of the Commissioner of Endowments along with some police personnel locked the temple. Hence, the writ petition.

(3.) Learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioners submitted that as per Section 27(1) of Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act (hereinafter referred to as OHRE Act), before constituting Non-hereditary Trust Board in respect of any religious institution other than math, the Assistant Commissioner of Endowments must be satisfied that there is no hereditary trustee in respect thereof. Since there are hereditary trustees in respect of religious institution in question, constitution of Non-hereditary Trust Board was illegal. In support of his submission, he relied on the decisions in the case of Khetramohan Rout and Ors. v. Sri Nageswar Mahadev and Ors., 1992 2 OrissaLR 330 and Upaleswari Thakurani and Upaleswari Narayani Thakurani and Ors. v. Commissioner of Endowments, Orissa and Ors., 1994 1 OrissaLR 185