Founder’s kin can be trustees: HC

The Hyderabad High Court has made it clear that there was no bar for the legal heir of the founder or member of the family or the founder of any institution to make a claim of entitlement to act as one of the trustees of the institution.

This would be so even for institutions existing prior to the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 which was adapted by the Telangana state government.

Justice B. Siva Sankara Rao was upholding the decision of the endowments tribunal in dismissing an interim application of one Sasikala and four others seeking to reject the suit moved by Ms Babita Sharma and three others legal heirs of Mahant Ram Chandra Das.

Ms Sharma moved the tribunal challenging an order passed by the endowment authorities in declaring that Ms Sasikala and three others claimed to be legal heirs of Raj Mohan Das, poojari of the temple for performing Archakatvam services.

The Mahant had founded Sri Bhagya Laxmi Temple at Charminar with his own funds and had declared her as trustee and the declaration of the endowments authorities was illegal, Ms Sharma said.

Justice Siva Sankara Rao held that any non-appointment in trusteeship or the failure to recognise despite entitlement in the line of original trustee is an unending right.