HJS issues legal notice to Pune Divisional Commissioner demanding immediate recovery of all Tuljabhavani Devasthan lands
Pune, Maharashtra – The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has issued a legal warning to the Pune Divisional Commissioner regarding the illegal transfer of lands offered to Shri Tuljabhavani Devi by devotees across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh.
The land dedicated to Shri #Tulja_Bhavani Devi by #Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Maharaj , #Chhatrapati_Sambhaji_Maharaj , several #Hindu rulers, and countless devotees across India is a sacred religious legacy that deserves protection.
Raising this serious issue, the Hindu Janajagruti… pic.twitter.com/m6JJt84Ukz
— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) August 6, 2026
The Samiti has demanded that the authorities immediately take physical possession of all lands recorded in the name of the Goddess by exercising statutory powers under Sections 18, 19, 21, 22, and 22-A of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act. Failing this, the organisation has warned that it will file a fresh Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the High Court, impleading the government and the concerned officials in their personal capacities as respondents.
The HJS’s existing PIL (No. 21/2018), concerning 1,668.14 hectares of temple land and an alleged multi-crore donation box scam, is currently pending before the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench of the Bombay High Court. Following an assurance given by the Revenue Minister in the State Legislature regarding the massive land scam involving Shri Tuljabhavani Devasthan, the government constituted a three-member committee on 20 July 2026, chaired by Pune Divisional Commissioner Smt. Sheetal Teli-Ugale.
Advocates representing the HJS, Adv. (Pu.) Suresh Kulkarni and Adv. Umesh Bhadgaonkar, submitted a detailed legal notice-cum-representation to this committee. Adv. (Mrs.) Mugdha Bivalkar and Adv. (Mrs.) Sunanda Yewale from Pune were also present during the submission.
Historical endowments and administrative oversight
The legal representation clarifies that several Hindu rulers, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, along with devotees from across the country, had donated large tracts of land to Shri Tuljabhavani Devi. Furthermore, official records in the Nizam’s gazetteer document 1,668.14 hectares of land registered under the name of the Goddess.
However, the Samiti contends that since the temple came under government administration in 1962, no effective measures have been executed to safeguard or recover these original properties. Instead, the administration is alleged to have deliberately overlooked the issue by propagating the impression that thousands of hectares had long been under the possession of four monasteries (Maths).
Consequently, the Samiti has demanded that the administration move beyond conducting inquiries and directly exercise its statutory powers to thoroughly audit all land records, restore all illegally transferred properties back to the Devasthan, and take physical possession of the assets.
Previous inquiry reports ignored
HJS further highlighted that the administration has ignored a report submitted on 7 January 2010 by a three-member committee headed by the then Joint Secretary of the Law and Judiciary Department, Shri M. G. Giratkar. Formal legal objections had also been previously submitted to the inquiry committee headed by the Additional District Collector of Dharashiv and to the Chairperson of the Tuljapur Devasthan.
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has reiterated that if immediate legal action is not initiated to safeguard the temple property, it will file a fresh PIL before the High Court, naming all responsible officials as respondents in both their official and personal capacities for alleged negligence.
