THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION No.9549 of 2003 Dated:19.11.2010 Between: Duggasani Venkateswara Reddy, And another. ….Petitioners And The Joint Collector, Prakasam District, Ongole, And others. …Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION No.9549 of 2003 ORDER: The two petitioners belong to Duggasani and Vanipenta families of Jonnatali Village. Their ancestors, statedly, donated Acs.9.50 cents in survey No.34 in the said Village to Sri Anjaneyaswami vari temple more than a century ago. The temple’s name is also mutated in the revenue records, and pattadar pass books and title deeds were also issued in the name of the temple. The grievance of the petitioners is that the second respondent addressed a letter to the third respondent seeking certain details with regard to the subject land on the ground that the same is required for assignment to landless poor persons belonging to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. On this cause of action the present writ petition is filed. The respondents have not filed any counter affidavit. Therefore, applying the principle of non traverse, the writ petition is disposed of in the following manner. As laid down by a Division Bench of this Court in S.Yadaiah v Commissioner of Endowments, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad[1], when the temple authorities or a Board of Trustees passed a resolution to dispose of the temple property by sale, there should be necessarily prior approval by the Commissioner for disposing of the property by public auction. It is also held by another Division Bench in District Collector, Prakasam District at Ongole v Andhra Pradesh Archaka Samakhya, Tenali, Rep.by its Vice President[2] that there is no bar for the State to acquire the Endowments land in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and any other method of taking the temple land is prohibited under law. In view of this, the writ petition is disposed of directing the respondents not to use the land belonging to Sri Anjaneyaswami vari temple, Jonnatali Village, Martur Mandal in Prakasam District, unless the due process of law under the Land Acquisition Act is followed. There shall be no order as to costs. __________________ (V.V.S.RAO, J) 19.11.2010 vs [1] 2002 (1) ALT 127 = 2002 (1) ALD 754 [2] 2008 (3) ALT 421 = 2008 (4) ALD 1