Anjali Bhargawa vs State of Uttarakhand & Others

Lok Pal Singh, J.

The case of the petitioner is that respondent no. 4 is organizing the Nanda Devi Mela, however, proceed whereof has not been given to Nagar Palika,

Nainital. Petitioner also submits that there is no involvement of District Administration in organizing the Mela.

It is evident that the religious Nanda Devi Mela is organized and performed at The Flats. Said area belongs to the State Government but the mela is

organized under the sole control of Mandir Samiti and the entire income from allotment of shops and offerings and donations made by the pilgrims

goes in the hands of respondent no.4 and it is not known where this money is used. It is not the case of respondent no.4 that respondent no.4 has got

no income to maintain the temple. We are of the view that the Mela should be run and controlled by the district administration with the assistance of

respondent no.4 and the money generated from the mela should be utilized for other purposes also, except beautification and management of Nanda

Devi Temple.

Taking into consideration the importance of religious Mela, we order that the District Magistrate, Nainital shall supervise the entire process of

allotment of shops/Kiosks, fixing the rates thereof and shall utilize the funds collected from the allotment of shops/kiosks for beautification and better

management of Nanda Devi Temple and also for providing facilities to the pilgrims/devotees in or around the temple.

We have enlarged the scope of writ petition. We have been informed that the public temples are not managed upto the required standards. The

affairs of the temples are run by the local Samitis. They do not have necessary warewithal to run the affairs of the temples. At few instances, the

entire management of the temple lies with one family. It is required to be rationalized. All the public temples, throughout the State of Uttarakhand,

should be regulated by the State Act. Certain temples are managed by the Trusts, Societies, Committees and the families. The management of the

temples should run by maintaining religious sanctity properly. The offerings made in the temples should be utilized for beautification of the temples and

for providing necessary facilities to the pilgrims. We have been further informed by the learned counsel appearing in the matter and by other

Advocates present in the Court that a large number of public temples are also managed by Samitis like Mansa Devi Temple, Chandi Devi, etc. and

there is huge earning of those temples from the donations and offerings made by the devotees in the form of cash and kind like gold and silver

ornaments, but there is no accountability of money in such temples. Names of such public temples are not ready available to us. It is also the

submission before us that these temples have been built on the government properties and traditionally the management of temples is run by Samitis in

the guise of public trusts. However, these public trusts belong to few persons and there is no involvement of public in trusts, resultantly, these public

trusts are managed as private trusts. The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that in various temples run by Samitis, there is no public safety, and

most of the times, pilgrims are mishandled by the members of the Samitis and the adjoining shopkeepers, as there is no law regulating the temples.

In order to maintain sanctity of the temples and for the better administration of the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments,

including public temples, and for the protection and preservation of the properties of such Institutions/Endowments, it is necessary to make the

legislation. The State Government can appoint Commissioners and other staff for running the affairs of the temples. The powers of the Commissioner

can be defined. The Commissioner can ensure preparation and maintenance of registers by all the religious institutions and they should be annually

verified. No immovable property of any public temple throughout the State of Uttarakhand should be alienated without the permission of the State of

Uttarakhand. It should be open for the State Government to appoint the tenure of non-hereditary trustees and Pujaries. The State Government can

take a clue from the enactment of the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984 for bringing

legislation.

It is known fact that the State of Uttarakhand is a poor State and has to expend heavy amount towards payment of interest. If the State

Government takes over the control and management of the temples throughout the State of Uttarakhand in its own hands and manages/control over

the public temples by framing regulations, earning of the temples can be utilized for the benefit of State of Uttarakhand. In State of Rajasthan,

Devesthan Department has been created by the Government of Rajasthan for better management, administration and functioning of public temples.

Similarly, in State of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, temples are maintained by the State Government and a part of income from these

temples is utilized by the State Government for the benefit of public at large.

We, accordingly, make suggestion/ recommendation to the State Government to frame suitable legislation for proper functioning of Hindu Public

Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments. The State Government is directed to prepare the list of all the public temples throughout the State of

Uttarakhand to bring them within the Schedule. It is expected that the State Government shall give respect and honor to the suggestions made by this

Court. We also make it clear that by the time State Government proposes to frame or enact suitable legislation for better management, administration

and functioning of the Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments, the State Government may constitute a committee of some

religious persons and invite their suggestions in this regard.

It was highlighted during the course of hearing large scale encroachment has been made, more particularly, in Bhotia Market and the adjoining

markets and the cine-complex. It is submitted at the Bar that allottees in these markets have occupied the Government /Municipal Land to the extent

of double the land/shop allotted to them. They do not have any right to extend the shops beyond the constructed area allotted to them. The

land/constructed area was allotted to the persons as a measure of rehabilitation without charging any money.

Accordingly, there shall be a direction to the District Administration as well as the Nagar Palika Parishad, Nainital to remove the encroachment in

accordance with law within a period of three months from today and, if necessary, by canceling their leases.

With the aforesaid observations and directions, present petition stands disposed of.