RAJKISHORE BARAL Vs. COMMISSIONER OF ENDOWMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common petitioner has filed these two separate writ applications challenging the order of the Additional Assistant Commissioner of Endowments constituting a board of non-hereditary trustees and the order of the Commissioner refusing to revise the same on an application under Section 9 of the Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act of 1951 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') in respect of two separate deities. The first writ application is in relation to Sri Swapneswar Dev while the other one is in respect of Sri Kunjabehari Dev, both located in village Anda within Khurda area of the district of Puri.

(2.) Petitioner maintains that he is a member of the Hindu public interested in the good administration of the two endowments. The Additional Assistant Commissioner by his order dated 17-7-1978, constituted a board of nonhereditary trustees as provided under Section 27 of the Act, Petitioner maintains that there should have been an appropriate inquiry before the appointment was made and the members of the Hindu public of the locality should have been heard. As there has been no inquiry and members of the Hindu public have not been consulted and their opinion has not been gathered, the constitution of the board of non-hereditary trustees was bad. Aggrieved by the appointment, the petitioner along with some others moved the Commissioner of Endowments in revision but the Commissioner erroneously refused to interfere.

(3.) Two affidavits have been filed in opposition -- one by the Commissioner of Endowments and the other on behalf of the board of non-hereditary trustees constituted under the impugned order. In the return filed by the Commissioner, it has been stated that there are three Hindu temples in the locality, being Sri Saileswar Dev, Sri Kunjabehari Dev and Sri Swapneswar Dev, and for the purposes of managing the affairs of all the three deities a board of nonhereditary trustees was being formed from 1950. Five non-hereditary trustees had been jointly appointed for all the three temples on 7-11-1969. Their terms expired on 5-11-1972, but no fresh appointment had been made. Several applications were received from the villagers making serious allegations regarding mis-management of the affairs of the three deities. The Inspector of Endowments of Khurda was deputed to enquire into the allegations and he submitted a detailed report after local inspection on 4-6-1978. It transpired that two of the non-hereditary trustees were already dead and the remaining ones were not looking after the affairs of the deity properly. The Inspector suggested that three sets of non-hereditary trustees -- one for each institution -- should be separately appointed and in his report of 30th of June, 1978, copy whereof is annexed to the counter affidavit of the Commissioner, he sent his recommendations. The Additional Assistant Commissioner took into consideration the said report and took his own decision in the matter of constitution of the board. In the other counter affidavit by the members of the non-hereditary trustees, the constitution of the board has been claimed to have been in accordance with law.