THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU WRIT APPEAL No. 536 of 2010 Dated: 7-9-2010 Between: Surisetty Raju Babu @ Ram Babu ….Appellant And The Principal Secretary, Endowments Department, Secretariat Building, Hyderabad and others …Respondents. JUDGMENT: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Goda Raghuram) The unsuccessful writ petitioner is before this Court against the judgment dated 27-4-2010 whereby the writ petition has been rejected. The writ petition is filed for a direction to the respondents for regularization of the petitioner house property of an extent of 600 Sq. yards bearing Door No. 26-199, with assessment No. 100011506276, covered by Sy.No. 275, Hanumanthawaka, Chinagadili Village and Mandal, 17 Ward, GVMC, Visakhapatnam. The property admittedly belongs to the 4th respondent Devasthanam and has been encroached upon by the petitioner. Along with the petitioner, a number of other persons also appear to have encroached on vast extents of the lands of the 4th respondent Devasthanam. For regularization of the illegal encroachments, the State Government issued G.O.Ms.No. 578, Revenue (Endts.IV) Department, dated 19-8-2000 stipulating a time within which applications should be made for considering or regularization purportedly under the proviso to Section 80 (1) (c) of the A.P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (for short ‘the 1987 Act’). Admittedly, the appellant did not submit an application. He applied for “regularization” after the date stipulated in G.O.Ms.No. 578. It would appear that in a subsequent order in G.O.Ms.No. 253, Revenue (Endts.IV(2)) Department, dated 3-3-2005, the State constituted a committee to advise the Commissioner of Endowments on how to expedite “the long pending issues” relating to regularization of the encroachment/occupation of lands of the Devasthanam. G.O.Ms.No. 253 was issued in supersession of the earlier order in G.O.Ms.No. 578. Apparently, the methodology of considering applications for regularizing encroachments of the Devasthanam lands is no longer in force, in view of the supersession of the orders in G.O.Ms.No. 578. Vide the assertion in para 8 of G.O.Ms.No. 253 a committee has now been constituted only for advising the Commissioner of Endowments for expediting the long pending issues relating to regularization. This order of the Government contains no provision for making applications for consideration of individual claims for regularization. The writ petition was dismissed on the ground that the writ petitioner- appellant herein failed to establish that he had submitted an application in terms of G.O.Ms.No. 578, before the due date i.e., 30-4-2004 (the original date stipulated for submission of applications under G.O.Ms.No. 578 was extended thereafter in subsequent orders). In fact with the eclipse of G.O.Ms.No. 578 (whatever be the legitimacy of that G.O) the only recourse open for the Commissioner of Endowments is to permit/authorize alienation of the lands belonging to the 4th respondent Devasthanam by a public auction. Since the lands do not belong to the State or any State instrumentality, all the State authorities (the Commissioner of Endowments included) are required, in terms of the provisions of 1987 Act and even otherwise, having regard to the ordained religious neutrality of the State under our Constitutional scheme, only to Act in the interests of Endowment concerned in matters pertaining to the property of Devasthanam and on no other considerations. On the above premise, the rejection of the writ petition by the learned single Judge is impeccable and warrants no interference. The appeal is accordingly dismissed at the stage of admission, after hearing the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned Government Pleader for Endowments. No costs. _______________________ GODA RAGHURAM, J ___________________________________ SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU, J 7th September, 2010 GRR