On Tuesday, Justice N Harinath said that the district collector had no powers to divert temple endowments from their religious mandate and quashed two separate administrative notifications that cleared the lease.
Published Sep 17, 2025 | 6:28 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 17, 2025 | 6:28 PM
Andhra Pradesh High Court. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The petitioners said that the 35-acre plot, valued at over ₹400 crore, was earmarked for a 56-day temporary lease to the private society organising the annual Vijayawada Utsav, in exchange for a paltry ₹45 lakh, without any public tender or auction process. They argued that the allotment was not only irregular but constituted a flagrant abuse of authority.
A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday, 17 September, stayed a single judge bench’s order that had ordered the restoration of a temple land at Gollapudi in Vijayawada.
On Tuesday, 16 September, the single bench directed the immediate restoration of 35 acres in Gollapudi, Vijayawada, which belongs to Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Krishna district’s Machilipatnam.
The high court further said that the proposed handover to a private society for the Vijayawada Utsav event amounted to a “blatant violation” of the state government’s powers under the Endowments Act.
Justice N Harinath, presiding over a single bench, delivered the verdict, emphasising the judiciary’s role as the “eternal guardian” of religious properties, barring any non-religious use.
The NTR district administration, on 22 July, had sought allotment of the temple land for a permanent annual exhibition under the banner of Vijayawada Utsav, as well as proposing to allot five acres of the land for a golf course project.
Challenging this, advocates Sujay Kumar and others filed petitions in the high court with a prayer that the land be restored to the temple.
The petitioners accused district officials of overstepping their jurisdiction by leasing the agricultural land — belonging to the historic Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple — for commercial purposes.
The petitioners said that the 35-acre plot, valued at over ₹400 crore, was earmarked for a 56-day temporary lease to the private society organising the annual Vijayawada Utsav, in exchange for a paltry ₹45 lakh, without any public tender or auction process. They argued that the allotment was not only irregular but constituted a flagrant abuse of authority.
Justice Harinath said that the district collector had no powers to divert temple endowments from their religious mandate and quashed two separate administrative notifications that cleared the lease.
The court further noted evidence of on-site preparations, including gravel dumping for levelling, which had already damaged the fertile soil, rendering it unfit for future agricultural or devotional use.
The judge pointed out that God is an eternal minor, and the court is the protector of the divine estates. He said encroachments of such assets cannot be allowed in the name of temporary arrangements. He directed the Endowments Department to file counter-affidavits within two weeks and ensure strict compliance.
Special Government Pleader S Pranathi conceded during hearings that no competitive bidding had occurred, prompting the court’s sharp rebuke. The order also extends to the proposed five-acre golf course on the same temple estate, reinforcing that all such lands must remain for use for religious purposes only by the temple.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
