Home » Andhra Pradesh » Govt Axes Mahanatha Of Hathiramji Mutt On Charges Of Misuse Of Its Properties

Andhra government axes Mahantha of Hathiramji Mutt on charges of misuse of its properties

The charges against him included misuse of Hathiramji Mutt's properties, violation of the rules of the mutt, and non-maintenance of records.

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Jun 10, 2023 | 2:39 PM ⚊UpdatedJun 10, 2023 | 3:36 PM

Mahanatha of Hathiramji Mutt suspended. (Wikipedia)

After failing to serve suspension notices on Arjun Das, the Mahantha of Hathiramji mutt in Tirupati in person, the officials of the Andhra Pradesh government’s Endowments Department pasted them on the gate of the mutt and the wall of his residence on Friday, 9 June.

Though the orders were issued a couple of days ago, the officials had been unable to serve them on Mahantha Arjun Das.

A team of officials comprising Endowment Department Assistant Commissioner Ramarksihna Reddy, deputy Tahasildar Jeevan Kuamr, Tahasiladar in Endowments Department Venkata Lakshmi, Endowments inspector PhaniKumar and Land protection cell surveyor Ramesh Babu visited the mutt on Friday, 9 June, to personally serve the orders on him.

But Arjun Das, sources said, played hard to get at, forcing the officials to paste the notices on the gate of the mutt and on the wall of his residence.

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Charges against Mahantha of Hathiramji mutt

The charges against him included misuse of Hathiramji mutt’s properties, acting in violation of the rules of the mutt, and non-maintenance of records. The action was taken after the Dharmika Parishad, in which the Endowment Commissioner is a member, adopted a resolution to this effect.

The department appointed Special Deputy Collector Vijaya Sarathi, who is now supervising the affairs of the Mutt, as its custodian. He is serving in the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) at present.

Deputy Chief Minister and Endowments Minister Kottu Satayanrayana has said that the government had decided to prosecute Arjun Das as it already has enough evidence on its hands.

He said there was evidence that he had married and sired a child which was against sanyasasrama rules.

“We have hospital records in which his name was entered as the father of the child,” he said, adding that this violation was enough to sack him.

The minister said the decision to sack Arjun Das was taken by the Dharmika Parishad, which was constituted by the state government after going into the allegations that Das had profited enormously by leasing out illegally the mutt’s properties, mostly land, to interested parties, which was a grave offence.

Suspended in 2022

In 2022, the government suspended him on the same charges, but Arjun Das obtained a stay from the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

While granting the stay, the court had said that the government had no business to interfere in the affairs of a mutt, and when asked for a remedy, it had suggested the creation of Dharmika Parishad to probe if any allegations are made against anyone in the management of a mutt.

In pursuance of its direction, the government created the parishad which, after deliberating on the issue at its meeting on 8 June, decided to remove Arjun Das and appoint a government official as the custodian of the Mutt, Satyanarayana said.

The minister said that based on the report that the official would submit, the government would decide on the sections under which Arjun Das could be prosecuted.