Since 2014, 11 priests have been fighting the case — Madapathi Nagendrappa v/s State of Telangana — against the Endowments Department.
The temple's main gate. (Supplied)
A hillock some 10 km from Cyberabad seldom catches the eye — like the temple that sits atop it.
The rat-tat-tat of intermittent gunshots from the adjacent firing range of the anti-Maoist commando force, Greyhounds, rolls away over the vale, leaving an echo in the ear even after it falls into the embrace of the silent horizon.
Said to be centuries old, the little-known temple catapulted into the limelight, thanks to a land dispute, alleged mismanagement, and a Telangana government order.
A letter addressed to the Telangana Endowments Department a decade ago paved the way for a legal battle between the priests of the Machileshwarnath Temple — also known as Veerabhadra Swamy Temple — at Gandipet in Rangareddy district.
The department acted based on the letter — the sender’s identity has been kept confidential. On 29 December 2023, the Commissioner of Endowments passed an order appointing an Executive Officer to supervise the temple administration. Another order followed on 25 January, 2024, directing the officer to take charge.
It launched the legal battle with 11 priests opposing the government order. On 22 February, Madapathi family patriarch Nagendrappa filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the Telangana Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1987.
Traditionally, Madapathis are the priests of the temple.
Even as they were preparing for Maha Shivarathri on the 14th day of the lunar month of Phalguna in the Hindu calendar, the priests received a favourable piece of news from the top court.
The usual serene look on Murali Paramesh, a young priest, disappeared when he gushed. “We were upbeat on 7 March,” he said of the Supreme Court’s stay order. “We were preparing for the Maha Shivarathri puja the next day when the news came in.”
His eyes roved in the distance. “We don’t know what will happen next,” he added after a short pause. The smile has disappeared, like the setting sun on the western horizon.
Paramesh is mighty worried, like others in the family, after the 2014 letter questioned the ownership of the temple land, spread over six acres.
Machileshwarnath Temple. (Supplied)
“We have been living in Manchirevula village for decades and the Machileshwarnath Temple has been maintained by my family for seven generations. For the past few years, we have been fighting against the government-made changes,” he claimed to have records to prove that the land belonged to them.
The young priest said the family had submitted several representations and even explained to former Commissioner of Endowments V Anil Kumar in person. Incidentally, it was Kumar who had passed the order to take over the temple.
“When the executive officer was appointed early this year, government officials took stock of the temple, and asked me to sign. But I said that I needed to speak to my advocate. As Maha Shivarathri was around the corner, we requested the officials time to speak to the commissioner,” he recalled the chain of incidents before the family approached the apex court.
Inside the temple, idols of Lord Shiva and Veerabhadra remained silent in the cave sanctorum. The temple also has idols of Sai Baba and Santhoshi Mata, besides a gaushala, where the cows stood listening each time the Greyhounds emptied a round.
“We have formed a Shri Veerabhadra Swamy Devasthanam Trust. We will fight to gain the temple back,” Paramesh declared.
Former endowments commissioner Kumar said in his 29 December 2023 order that the department had taken a step to address concerns regarding the administration of Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple at Manchirevula.
The department followed up its order, appointing U Aruna Kumari as the executive officer to oversee the temple affairs.
A thorough evaluation of the temple’s management practices had preceded the executive officer’s appointment. It was observed that despite the temple being established under the provisions of the Endowments Act, concerns remained regarding the maintenance of records and interference by the self-styled managing authorities in protecting the state’s properties.
Furthermore, the temple often experiences a significant influx of devotees, particularly during Shivaratri and other festivals, and is often used as a location for cinema shootings. However, the lack of a proper management has led to public criticism and concerns over the safeguarding the temple’s valuables.
The department entrusted Kumari with the responsibility of temple administration under Section 8 read with Section 29 of the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 30/1987. She was directed to ensure compliance with the directives.
Kumari told South First that the Endowment Department had to intervene in the temple affairs due to a complaint that the temple had not been developed for years.
“We cannot reveal the complainant’s identity. The Endowment Department takes over the administration of a temple only when we are informed that there is a temple left unattended or lacks development or priests are encroaching and selling the land,” she said.
She further said the department searched the Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple after receiving a complaint that it was not being developed. The priests constructed houses in the temple land and they had no documents, no bank accounts for maintenance and they also did not possess the gold ornaments of gods. It was suspicious,” Kumari added.
The executive officer further said that the department would go ahead with the case. “If there are documents then they should be produced. How can priests construct houses on the temple land,” she said, adding that the Endowment Department would keep all processes transparent and pay the priests.
“The petitioners’ family and ancestors have been priests in the temple for the past 400 years. They have been continuously managing the temple and administering its property for the propagation of dharma,” Vishesh Kanodia, a counsel of the petitioners, claimed.
He further stated that the government had arbitrarily and unconstitutionally taken over the administration, management, and control of thousands of Hindu temples.
“This taking over of Hindu temples is in derogation of the Right to Freedom of Religion, envisaged in Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution and beyond the powers of Article 31A (government’s right to take over people’s properties) of the Constitution of India,” he added.
Kanodia quoted the Supreme Court order: “Issue notice. The status quo, existing as of today, shall be maintained in the meantime. We have also perused the order dated 29 December 2023 and are of the prima facie view that the order suffers illegality.”
It all began in 2014 when the elite Greyhounds combat unit of the Telangana Police Department attempted to vacate the temple priests from the property, alleging they were trying to encroach upon the force’s 320 acres.
26 February 2014: A writ petition was filed before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to prevent dispossession of the temple. However, the high court — post-bifurcation — directed them to seek relief from the civil court.
9 June 2016: A group of people formed a Trust for the better management and administration of the temple with petitioner Madapathi Nagendrappa as its chairman.
7 March 2020: The Telangana government, through the Commissioner of Endowments, issued a notice to the petitioners under Section 43 of the impugned Endowments Act directing the petitioners to register the temple under the Act.
2 March 2021: The Commissioner of Endowments issued a second notice to the petitioners to register the temple under the Act.
In 2022, the Greyhounds once again attempted to vacate the petitioners, raising issues of illegal construction on the temple property.
14 February 2022: The priests filed a writ petition in the Telangana High Court to protect the temple from the Greyhounds. The police, in their response, stated that they were not interfering with the temple’s six acres or religious activities. The court, while acknowledging the statement, permitted the petitioners to pursue appropriate legal recourse for the remaining land.
Though government records showed the temple’s six acres as belonging to the government, the petitioners have the General Power of Attorney, which advocate Kanodia said will be submitted to the Supreme Court.
The high court ordered the temple to formally become a specific Endowment attached to a Mutt after the signing of an MoU between the petitioners and the Srimad Ujjini Simhasana Mahasamsthana Jagadguru Peetham, Ujjini, Ballari.
19 August 2023: State government officials try to evict the petitioners from the temple. Advocate Kanodia termed it illegal
29 December 2023: The Commissioner of Endowments appointed an Executive Officer
25 January 2024: The Commissioner of Endowments directed the Executive Officer to take charge of the temple, forcing the petitioners to approach the apex court.
March 2024: Commissioner of Endowments V Anil Kumar resigned and a new Commissioner assumed office. The Endowments Department has requested time to respond to the issue.
(Edited by Majnu Babu, Kamna Revanoor)
May 04, 2024
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