Andhra Pradesh High Court rules 121-yr-old Anjaneya Swamy Temple a private trust, not under state control

Justice V Sujatha noted that the maternal great-grandfather of the managing trustee constructed the temple in 1905 by purchasing property in the name of the temple.

‘Temple constructed in 1905’

• The Andhra Pradesh High Court noted that the maternal great-grandfather of the managing trustee, late Sri Rayapati Venkata Subbaiah, constructed the temple in 1905 by purchasing property in the name of the temple.
• It held that, therefore, the property claimed by the petitioner is “absolutely private property.”
• The court found that the temple had been exempted from the provisions of the Hindu Religious Endowments Act as early as 1928 and was declared a private temple.
• It also noted that the Endowments Department has had no control over the temple at any point, is not managing its affairs, and is not rendering any service to it.
• Further, the Andhra Pradesh High Court recorded that no employees of the department were working in the temple and it had never been taken over by the Endowments Department.
• The court clarified that since the temple is a private temple not governed by endowment laws, there was no requirement to approach the statutory tribunal under the Act.

Managing temple since 1905

The temple trust claimed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court that the Sri Anjaneya Swamyvari temple, also called Sri Seetharamajaneya temple, is a family trust temple owned by the family on private property.

The temple was originally constructed in 1905 by the family members of late Sri Rayapati Venkata Subbaiah to perform pujas in the mango garden of Krishna district, it was added. The temple trust contended that the late Venkata Subbaiah purchased agricultural land by a registered sale deed in July 1915 with his own money in the name of Sri Anjaneya Swamyvari Temple, representing himself as a trustee.

It was added that, being the founder of the said trust, Subbaiah executed a registered “will” in August 1929 by creating a family temple trust for the said temple exclusively for worship, for the benefit of his family members and for their mutual spiritual happiness.

The temple trust added that, except for the family members, no one has rights or duties with respect to the family temple, and it was not established for outsiders.

It was further contended before the Andhra Pradesh High Court that the recitals and contents of the “will” of 1929 constitute the memorandum of trust and management of affairs of the temple, which is absolutely under the control of the trustees and also excludes all outsiders.

Arguments

Appearing for the temple trust, advocate Venkatasubbaiah submitted that the subject temple is a private temple and supported the order of the court below in all respects and requested the Andhra Pradesh High Court to dismiss the present appeal.

The counsel representing the state departments contended that the district judge erred in declaring that the suit-scheduled property shall not come under the purview of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987.

He further added that they also failed to consider the matter in the proper perspective, especially in not considering the distinction between a public trust and a private trust. He emphasised that the lower court should have seen that after the separation of Andhra Pradesh from the erstwhile state of Madras, the legislation passed by the then legislatures had no application.

He further submitted before the Andhra Pradesh High Court that there is no personal gain to the petitioners and requested to allow the present appeal.