Public religious trust status confirmed where dedication, management history and public worship evidence showed a temple held for the Hindu public.

The character of the dedication, management history, documentary recitals and public worship evidence showed that the Shri Vithal Rukhamai Sansthan at Amalner was held out as a temple for an indeterminate Hindu public. The property was treated in the name of the Devasthan, successive saints acted as managers rather than owners, and gifts and grants were made for worship and maintenance of the deity. Public participation in darshan, bhajan, festivals and processions further indicated a public religious institution. On that basis, the Sansthan was recognised as a public trust, not a private religious endowment, and registration as a public trust was upheld.

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Issues: Whether Shri Vithal Rukhamai Sansthan at Amalner was a private religious endowment or a public religious trust within the meaning of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.

Analysis: The determination turned on the character of the dedication, the historical mode of management, the nature of the devolution among successive saints, the effect of the royal sanad, the recitals in the varaspatra and vyavasthapatra, the gifts made for worship and maintenance of the deity, and the evidence of public participation in darshan, bhajan, festivals and processions. The documentary record showed that the property was treated in the name of the Devasthan, managed by successive saints as managers rather than owners, and supported by gifts and grants made for religious worship. The oral evidence, including the admission that the public could not be prevented from going to the temple for darshan, reinforced the conclusion that the institution was held out as a temple for worship by an indeterminate Hindu public rather than as a private family endowment.

Conclusion: The Sansthan was held to be a public trust and not a private religious endowment, and registration as a public trust was upheld.

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