HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has dismissed an appeal by the legal heirs of Satyanarayan Agarwal, seeking declaration of title over properties in Shaikpet, and upheld the City Civil Court’s March 29, 2007 judgment.
A bench of Justice K Lakshman and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy held that the suit was not maintainable before a civil court due to the bar under the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987.
The dispute related to land and a Hanuman temple claimed by the appellants as private family property on the basis of a will and revenue records. The Endowments department argued that the temple and land constituted a religious endowment.
The court said issues on the nature of a religious institution, whether property is an endowment, and founder claims fall within the jurisdiction of the Endowments Tribunal under Sections 87 and 151 of the Act, thereby barring civil court jurisdiction.
On merits, the bench found that the appellants failed to prove the temple was a private family temple or that the property was privately owned. It noted that records, including a Gazette notification, showed the property to be part of a public endowment, with the original claimant acting only as a trustee without ownership rights.
Dismissing the appeal, the court upheld the trial court’s findings and permitted recovery of court fees as per law.
It also granted liberty to the appellants to approach the Endowments Tribunal, clarifying that its observations are confined to maintainability.