THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA WRIT PETITION No.11986 of 2002 DATED: 19.08.2010 Between: Sri Chennapuri Devanga Sangham (Regd.), 49, Chennai, rep. by its General Secretary S. Devasenapathy .. Petitioner And The Commissioner of Endowments, Department of Endowments, A.P., Hyderabad and others. .. Respondents ORDER: Questioning the proceedings dated 03.03.2002 issued by the 1st respondent- Commissioner of Endowments, A.P., Hyderabad, permitting the 2nd respondent - Assistant Commissioner, Endowments Department, Chittoor, to take possession of the choultries/mutts indicated therein, including the Devangula Choulty and Vahanamulasala Mandapam situated at Srikalahasthi, and handover the same to the 3rd respondent- Executive Officer, Srikalahastheeswara Swami Vari Devasthanam, Srikalahasthi, and the consequential action of the respondents in putting the said Devangula Choultry and Vahanalamandapam under lock and seal, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. Petitioner states that the said Devangula Choultry and Vahanala Mandapam are vested with the members of Devanga Community since times immemorial and the Choultry is being used by the members of Devanga Community, for their stay during their visit to the temple of Lord Shiva and Gnana Prasunambika at Srikalahasthi, and that the said choultry and Vahanala Mandapam are now being managed by the petitioner Sangham, consisting of the members of Devanga Community. Petitioner further states that at no point of time, the right, title and possession of their Community over the said Choultry and Mandapam are disputed by anybody. While so, surprisingly, the 1st respondent, without issuing any prior notice and without assigning any reasons, issued the impugned proceedings dated 03.03.2002, directing the 2nd respondent to take possession of the said Choultry and Mandapam, and handover it to the 3rd respondent, and even without serving a copy of the said proceedings on it, the 3rd respondent put the premises of the Choultry and Mandapam under lock and seal, in pursuance of the impugned proceedings. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner filed the present writ petition, seeking appropriate directions. This Court, while admitting the writ petition on 05.07.2002, passed interim orders, directing the respondents to remove the lock and seal to the subject premises i.e. Devangula Choultry and Vahanala Mandapam, and not to interfere with the possession and management of the said property by the petitioner. The 1st respondent filed counter-affidavit stating that the Devangula Choultry is a public charitable institution of Srikalahastheeswara Swamy Vari Devasthanam, and Sri Chennapuri Devanga Sangham has entrusted the same to the Devasthanam for proper maintenance and to cater to the needs of people of Devanga Community visiting the temple from various parts of the State. The said Choultry has been published under Section 6 (c) of the A.P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987, (for short ‘the Act’) and the Executive Officer of the Devasthanam has been appointed to mange the same, under Section 29 of the Act, and that the Devanga Community will not be deprived of the benefit of utilizing the Choultry for their stay during the pilgrimage. So far as Vahanasala Mandapam is concerned, it is stated that the same is the absolute property of the Devasthanam, as per the property register in B.O.No.3793 dated 15.12.1938 approved by the erstwhile HRE Board, Madras, and the Devanga Community did not establish the same and it has nothing to do with the said Mandapam, but the petitioner illegally raised temporary sheds on both sides of said Mandapam and collecting rents by letting out the same. It is further stated that the petitioner has no title over the subject property, but however, if it claims the property to be private institution, the remedy as available to it under the statute is to file a petition under Section 87 of the Act for declaration of the property to be private institution. It is also further stated that the Galigopuram of Devasthanam collapsed on 26.05.2010 and as parts of the same fell on Choultry, it was partially damaged. In view of the aforesaid specific stand taken by the 1st respondent that the Choultry is public charitable institution, having been published as such under Section 6 (c) of the Act, and the Mandapam is the absolute property of the Devasthanam, as is evident from the property register in B.O.No.3793 dated 15.12.1938 approved by the erstwhile HRE Board, Madras, the title of the petitioner over the said properties and its right to manage them are in dispute. In the circumstances, to seek redressal of its grievance, the remedy available to the petitioner is to file a petition under Section 87 of the Act and get a declaration that the properties are private institutions and not covered under the provisions of the Act. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of, reserving liberty to the petitioner to avail the statutory remedy of filing petition under Section 87 of the Act, for redresssal of its grievance. No order as to costs. _____________ N.V. RAMANA, J Date: 19.08.2010 IBL