'How Temple Ownership Can Be Changed By Minister?' : Supreme Court Proposes To Cancel Sale Deed Of Temple Land

Surprised at the change in ownership of a temple property facilitated by a Maharashtra Minister in September 2014, the Supreme Court recently directed a Collector to take possession of the subject land and submit a plan for temporary utilization thereof for the benefit of the temple and village community.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order, noting that the ownership of the temple was changed without providing opportunity of hearing to the temple management and/or affected persons.

The order stated thus:

"How the ownership of the temple could be changed by the Minister, that too without according hearing to the temple Management or the other affected persons, is beyond comprehension...we direct the Collector, Ahmednagar to take physical possession of the land forthwith and submit a compliance report to this Court. The Collector shall also submit a plan for temporary utilization of the land, including through auction of the land on annual lease basis, for the benefit of the temple and village community, till the controversy is resolved."

Briefly put, the subject land was owned by Devasthan ie temple of the village. However, by an order of 2014, then State Minister (Revenue, Rehabilitation & Assistance Work) facilitated its sale in favor of one Gorakh Parvati Phalke. Phalke further sold the land to one Bapu Raghunath Kapse, who in turn sold it (during the pendency of the present case) to one Vijay Deoram Gayake. As Gayake did not come forward for impleadment, the Court opined that there was a "calculated move to appropriate the temple property".

As such, the Court issued show cause notice to Gayake as to why the sale deed in his favor not be annulled till the rights of the parties are determined.

Case Title: Arun Baburao Phalke & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., SLP(C) No.7278/2020

Click here to read the order