Public religious trust requires proof of public dedication or user as of right; private mutt indicators were insufficient.

To constitute a public religious trust under section 2(1) of the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1951, reliable proof of dedication to the public or public user as of right is required. Long-standing possession by mahants, succession from guru to chela, celibacy, feeding of sadhus and pilgrims, festival observance, and free access for worshippers were held consistent with a private mutt or private temple and therefore insufficient. The absence of original sanads did not justify an adverse inference, and the oral evidence failed to establish public dedication. The decree for the respondent was restored, and the Act was held inapplicable.

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Issues: Whether the temple and properties of the asthal were public religious trust properties within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1951.

Analysis: The properties had long stood in the names of the mahants, who were in possession and management of the asthal and dealt with some properties in their own names. The burden lay on the Board, which asserted a public trust, to prove dedication to the public or to a section of it. Mere succession from guru to chela, celibacy of the mahants, feeding of sadhus and pilgrims, celebration of festivals, or free access of worshippers was not enough to establish a public trust, since such features are also consistent with a private mutt or private temple. The absence of the original sanads did not justify an adverse inference against the respondent, and the oral evidence was insufficient to prove a public dedication or user as of right.

Conclusion: The properties were not shown to fall within the statutory definition of a public religious trust, and the Act did not apply.

Final Conclusion: The decree in favour of the respondent was restored and the challenge to the applicability of the Act failed.

Ratio Decidendi: To bring an asthal or temple property within the definition of a public religious trust, there must be reliable proof of dedication to the public or of public user as of right; ordinary incidents of a private mutt or private temple do not suffice.

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