Illegal occupant’s claim dismissed; Historic victory for ancient Shri Sitaramchandra Sansthan
Achalpur (District Amravati), Maharashtra – The revenue court of Achalpur has foiled a conspiracy to usurp 3.5 acres (1.43 hectares) of agricultural land worth ten crore rupees belonging to the historic and ancient ‘Shri Sitaramchandra Sansthan, also known as Shri Ram Mandir (Bundelpura)’ located in Mauja Khel Tryambaknaranayan. Accepting the preliminary objection raised by the Devasthan, Achalpur Tehsildar and Chairman of the Agricultural Land Tribunal, Sudarshan Shahare, legally dismissed the tenancy-purchase case filed by a female illegal occupant.
This is being considered a historic and landmark judgment in Maharashtra state, where an entire claim has been rejected at the very outset based solely on the legal grounds of a Devasthan’s preliminary objection, delivering a verdict in favour of the Devasthan. The temple land remains secure today entirely due to the firm legal support and cooperation extended by the ‘Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh’ to the newly appointed trustees of the institution during this struggle.
Conspiracy to usurp land using the names of deceased trustees
The land in question is the property of the Shri Ram Mandir Sansthan. It is intended that the income generated from it should fund the temple’s naivedya, puja-archana, renovation, and the expenses of the priests; however, the temple is currently in an extremely dilapidated condition, and the institution was not receiving even a single rupee in returns from the occupant.
Taking advantage of the demise of the old trustees listed in the 7/12 land records, the applicant, Smt. Anita Lakhansingh Tarwale, had concealed the actual facts and applied to transfer the land under her name. Although new trustees had already been appointed to the temple by order of the Charity Commissioner’s Office, this illegal process was being carried out without making them a party to the case.
In this matter, Anup Jaiswal and Vinit Pakhode, state office-bearers of the ‘Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh’, intervened immediately, submitted a memorandum to the Tehsildar, and presented the history of the land. According to the report of the Joint Charity Commissioner of Amravati, prior permission from the Charity Commissioner is mandatory for the sale and purchase of registered Devasthan land, and the applicant possessed no such permission.
After examining the arguments and documents from both sides, Tehsildar Sudarshan Shahare clarified that the applicant had failed to fulfill the necessary conditions of the tenancy law and had no right to purchase the Devasthan’s land. Completely rejecting the applicant’s petition, he ruled that the land remains the sole property of the Sansthan.
Throughout this judicial battle, the new trustees on behalf of the institution, namely, Mayur Dixit, Ajay Tiwari, Purushottam Dubey, Rajkumar Mishra, Loknath Vajpayee, Sachin Awasthi, and Nitin Maheshwari, presented their legal case in an extremely robust manner.
