‘Painful’ to find that Temples not Getting dues from State Govt: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court (HC) has said that it is “painful” that temples and trusts have to knock the doors of the court for getting their dues released from the Uttar Pradesh government.

A petition in the Allahabad HC said that the annuity of nine temples in Vrindavan town in Uttar Pradesh had been withheld for the last four years by district magistrate and Senior Treasury Officer, Mathura.

The bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal was hearing a petition filed by Thakur Rangji Maharaj Virajman Mandir, a temple built in 1851 A.D., seeking the court’s intervention to get its payment of the annuity under Section 99 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition (UPZA) and Land Reforms (LR) Act.

The petitioner told the court that the annuity amounting to Rs 9,125,07 had not been released to nine temples due to lack of permission by the Board of Revenue. However, the government submitted that Rs 2,23,199 had been paid and now a balance of Rs 6,89,308 remained.

READ ALSO  Parliament Security Breach: Accused Mahesh Kumawat's custody extended till Jan 5

The Commissioner/Secretary of the Board of Revenue, in a personal affidavit, told the court that a fund of more than Rs 6 lakh could not be released to the temples due to paucity of funds.

“This court is pained to note that temples and trusts have to knock the doors of the Court for getting their dues released from the state government, which should have automatically flowed from the treasury of the state into the account of temples,” the court noted.

Also Read

READ ALSO  Kerala HC Appoints Panel To Monitor Brahmapuram Waste Plant Smoke Situation

The court further said that from perusal of the personal affidavit of Commissioner/Secretary, Board of Revenue, it transpired that no effort had been made by the officer concerned for the last four years for getting the annuity transferred into the account of the temples.

“The temple authorities are running from pillar to post for getting their dues released from these government officials, which is strange,” the court added, while issuing summons to the Secretary of the Board of Revenue for an explanation.

READ ALSO  Mere Use of a Lethal Weapon Is Sufficient to Invoke the Provisions of Section 307 IPC: Allahabad HC

The court also noted that a letter written by the Mathura district magistrate to the Special Secretary, Uttar Pradesh government, is an indicator to the effect that the official sitting in the state capital does “not care for the release of annuities to the trusts and temples”. (IANS)

Law Trend
Law Trendhttps://lawtrend.in/
Legal News Website Providing Latest Judgments of Supreme Court and High Court

Related Articles

Latest Articles