Endowment case

DAYASAGAR MEHER (Querist) 17 February 2015 This query is : Resolved
That a temple was established in our village (state - Odisha) about 160 years back and around 100 acers of land was donated to the temple by the 'MAHARAJA' of the district at that time.

That the resonsibility of worship was given to a Priest and since then the priest and their family continue to cultivate the land and worship in temple.

As per the endowment law the priest can't sell the land of temple, but in 1980 some land of temple was registered illegally in the name of the family of the priest and those were sold out by their family.
There was a huge breakout of breach of peace at that time and because of the influence of some of powerful persons of the district in their favor, no action was taken against them in spite of several complaints.

The rest of the land around 50 acres, is still being cultivated and used by them for their personal purposes and not a single penny they are using for temple. Temple being managed by the money collected from the public.

Several letters were sent to assistant commissioner of endowment to form a permanent trust for temple and to free the land from the hereditary encrochers but to no result. It is also rumoured that with the influence of some MP/MLAS they have formed a hereditary trust in their name (with the consent of assistant commissioner) for the purpose of grabbing the land, but reality is unknown as yet.

How to solve the problem to form a permanent trust.
Is there any way to obtain information, whether an illegal hereditary trust was formed.

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prabhakar singh (Expert) 17 February 2015
Claiming it to be public temple where in public are beneficiaries by worshiping,two are more persons from public should file a suit under section 92 of Code of Civil Procedure,along with an application of leave to sue, on allegations of misappropriations of property of temple endowed on ''pranprathist'' deity in the temple by thence king.Record of rights should also be checked.Relief should be for expulsion,accounting and scheme of administration.

you should visit a lawyer who has at least read the Tagore Law Lectures on Endowments because now a says lawyers are found less competent in this area because
cases on the topic seldom come now a days.