HINDU RELIGIOUS AND CHARITABLE ENDOWNMENTS

FORMATION-ADMINISTRATION ESSENTIALS OBJECTS

INTRODUCTION:
Endowments means, properties set apart or given as a gift to particular deity or to
some religious institutions like temples, which is useful for public in general or public
in section. It even includes the welfare and beneficial objects done in favor of
mankind. Endowments are mainly gifted to the fields of education, health, social
welfare including old age homes; orphanages etc., the practice of these endowments
are mainly due to the religious beliefs of attaining moksha after death. Moreover it is
done to nullify the past sins done in the previous births.
A Hindu who is of sound mind, and not a minor, may dispose of his property by
gift or by will for religious and charitable purposes, such as the establishment and
worship of an idol , feeding Brahmans and the poor, performance of religious
ceremonies like Shraddha, durga puja and Lakshmi puja, and the endowments of a
university or an hospital . A list of what conduces to religious merit in hindu law can
be exhaustive. However when any purpose is claimed to be valid one for a perpetual
dedication on the ground of religious merit, though lacking in public benefit, it must
be shown to have a shastric basis . The heads of religious purposes determined by
belief in acquisition of religious merit cannot be allowed to be widely enlarged
consistently with public policy and the needs of modern society.
The English law relating to superstitious uses does not apply to Hindu religious
endowments, thus, a gift in favor of an idol or for the performance of worship of a
deity is valid according to the Hindu laws are concerned though, it may not be valid
according to the English law. Dispositions for religious purposes are highly favoured
by Hindu law and the leaning of the courts also is in the same direction. Dedication of

property by a Hindu to a deity is not only lawful, but also commendable in a high
degree from the Hindu part of law.
In case of a trust setup an akhara, it cannot be said that there was a dedication for
religious or charitable purposes, even though two idol and tawsir were installed there
to attract wrestlers of both the Hindu and the Muslim community. Distinction has been
drawn between cases where the object of the dedication was the promotion of games
and sports as part of education and cases where the object was the promotion of
games or sports simplicitor. The former only has been upheld on the ground that the
object was to promote education .
ENDOWMENT :FORMATION
No writing is necessary to create an endowment, except where the endowment is
created by a will, in which case, the will must be in writing and attested by at least
two witnesses, if the case is governed by Sec 57 of Indian Succession Act, 1925
THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
It is certain that temples and Mutts did not exist in the Vedic period. In the Sutra
period also mutts did not exist, though it seems that temples in some form existed.
Gautama-Dharmasutra mentions a temple of God at more than one place, but we do
not know what type of temple that existed and which were the deities that Hindus
worshipped then.
It is not easy to say when exactly idol worship came into existence. It is certain
that it did not exist in the vedic period. The Hindus have been worshipping Pouranic
gods. The age of the Pourannas is uncertain . Between 4th century and 8th century
A.D., the worship of the pouranic gods became very popular. The Gupta Emperors
were the patrons of Pouranic faith. The idea of trinity of God- Brahma as God of

creation, Vishnu as God of preservation and Siva as the God of destruction is a

Pouranic concept.
With the emergence of idol worship, there came to existence and dedication of
property for the construction and maintenance of temples, mutts and construction of
idols. From this time onward indus have been dedicating property for religious and
charitable purpose. This has been mainly under two heads, Ista and Purta. The former
indicates the vedic sacrifices and rites associated with such sacrifices, while the latter
stands for all other religions and charitable acts and purposes unconnected with the
vedic sacrifices. The ista-purta have been considered as means for going to heaven.
The istha works as enumerated by Pandit Pran Nath Saraswati in his work on
Endowments are- (a) Vedic Sacrifices, (b) gift offered to priests at the vedic sacrifice,
(c) preserving the Vedas, (d) religious austerity, (e) rectitude, (f) Vaiswaradeva
sacrifices, (g) Hospitality. The Purta works signify works of Public utility such as
building tanks, wells, groves, the gift of food, dharmashalas, schools, asylums,
supplying drinking water, relief for sick, gift for Promotion of education and
knowledge, temples and processions of deities, etc. It is evident that no clear cut
distinction was made between religious and charitable acts. Hospitality was an Ishtha
work and the construction of temples was a purta work.
Ishta and Purta:
Gift for religious and charitable purposes were impelled by the desire to
acquire religious merit. They fall into two provisions, Ishta and Purta; the former
meant sacrifices and sacrificial gifts and the later meant charities. The former led to
heaven and the latter led to moksha or emancipation; charity was thus placed on a
higher footing than religious and sacrifices ( ishta ) and perform works of charity
( purta ) with faith; for offerings and charitable works made with faith and with
lawfully earned money procure endless rewards. Let him always practice, according

to his ability with a cheerful heart, the duty of liberality both by sacrifices and
charitable works if he finds a worthy recipient for his gifts .
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENDOWMENTS:
Religious endowments are of two kinds, public and private. In a public
endowment, the dedication is for the use or benefit of the public at large or a specified
class . But when the property is set apart for the worship of a family god, in which the
public are not interested, the endowment is a private one. It is a question of fact
whether a temple is a private or a public one. The extent of properties belonging to the
temple, the course of conduct of the devotees, the supervision exercised by the
founder and his descendants whether the rents and profits are exclusively utilized for
the temple for a long period are relevant factors to be taken into consideration whether
a temple is a public one or a private one, as also public visiting the temple for darshan
and worship, appearance of the temple, association of members of public with the
management and earlier statements or admission of parties. The mere fact that the
Hindu worshippers are freely admitted into the temples does not prove that the temple
is public. Installation of idol permanently on a pedestal and fact that the temple
constructed on the ground separate from the residential quarters are conclusive proof
of dedication to public. However from a long course of user by the public it would be
reasonable to infer that the user was of a right. In the absence of a document long user
is the material factor in inferring dedication to the public. The sites of the temples is
also one of the factors to be taken into consideration in deciding whether the
endowment public or private. Where a temple is constructed in government site with
contribution from public, and where contribution was paid to HR and CE board and
no assertion that the temple was private previously made by the temple is a public
temple and not a private temple.

Merely because the festivals are celebrated or sadhus and other persons are visiting
the temple are given food and shelter or that the public are permitted to visit the
temple it is not indicative of the temple being a public temple . In south India except
Kerala state that as that state comprised mostly of the territory of the erstwhile state of
Travancore where the existence of private temples was recognized.
RELIGIOUS, CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS AND DEDICATION
Religious Endowments:
Gifts for installation, consecration, worship and service of idols and gifts to
idols already installed and consecrated , gifts for the building and renovation of
temples, for the processions of idols and their vehicles and for religious festivals, in
other words, gifts to religious institutions or for religious purposes of every kind are
valid religious endowments. A permanent image of a deity is not necessary before a
valid gift to it can be made under hindu law . Where dedication did not specify to
particular idol but stated that the dedication was to Thakurji Maharaj, it was held that
there was no valid dedication as the idol could not be identified. Even a property
dedicated to an idol and idol is destroyed or mutilated, the endowment will not be
affected in any way. A new Bhajana Mattam could be created and pujas could be
made. if god is omnipresent, he is as much in the image elsewhere. It is also
recognized that image worship is a lower form of worship devised as suitable to be the
competency of worshippers in particular grade. Raising a tomb on the remains of
ancestor, an ordinary person is not recognized as religious in nature. The person who
contends that it is religious practice shall prove it. But when the body is cremated and
then a memorial is raised for performing Sraddha ceremony and conducting periodical
worship, for this practice may not offend the hindu sentiment which does not
ordinarily recognize entombling the remains of the dead. A place of worship will not
cease to be religious because of its being in the memory of the person.

Maths:
Maths are in the main religious institutions. The primary purpose is
maintenance of a competent line of religious teachers for the advancement of religion
and piety, for the promotion of religious knowledge, the imparting of spiritual
instruction to the disciples and followers of the math and the maintenance of the
doctrines of particular schools of religion or philosophy. Though there are idols
connected to with the maths, their worship is considered is quite a secondary matter.
The worship is primarily the concern of head of the institution; the public are
generally admitted at the time of worship to see the saint or the guru in his prayers to
his Ishta Devata oer the presiding deity to the math but the plac of worship does not
thereby become a place to which the public can claim admissions as of right. In
addition to religious instruction, other charitable purposes are also served by these
institutions, some of those maths being more charitable than religious . The question
whether property is to be given to the head of math for his personal benefit has to be
decided either from the terms of grant or from the circumstances.
An inference can also be drawn from usage and customs of the institutions, or
from the mode in which property has been dealt with as also other established
circumstances. In the debuttor e central part of institution is the idol whereas in a
math it is an ascetic or a religious teacher. An institution being originally a debuttor
cannot be converted or treated as neither a math nor a math to a temple. Each category
continues to maintain its distinctive characteristics. The beginning of an institution as
Samadhi will not have much bearing in deciding the question whether the institution
is a math or a temple. Each category continues to maintain its distinctive
characteristics.

Charitable Endowments:
Under Charitable endowments are included all the endowments recognized
under Hindu Law except the Debutter and Math. A Hindu can make a gift for the ishta
and the purta. The Usual charitable gift or bequest for charitable purposes is the
institution of the dharamshala, annastrams, Sadavarts, for the establishment or
maintenance of educational and medical Institution, for construction and maintenance
of source of supply of water, such as tanks and wells, bathing ghats, etc. A Hindu can
create a charitable trust for any of these purposes. He may also dedicate property for
any of these purposes and create an endowment. Such dedications are made by the
usual ceremony of sankalpa and utsarga, though as has been pointed out earlier that no
particular ceremonies are obligatory. It will be very interesting to know in whose
name the Property actually vests when a dedication is made for a tank, well, grove or
dharmashala. When dedication to tanks and trees is made, private ownership ceases,
but the question of the property Vesting in a corporate body or institution does not
arise. Nor does the question of administration such property arise.
Bequest to Dharma:
It has frequently been held that a gift or bequest to Dharma or Dharama is void
for vagueness and uncertainty. In wilsons dictionary the term Dharma is defined as
law virtue, legal or moral duty. The reasons for holding such gifts or bequests to be
void were examined by the privy council in Runchordas Vandrawandas V Parvatibhat
and that judgment of Lord Eldon in Morice V Bishop of Durham was followed: as it
is a maxim that the execution of a trust shall be under that control of that the
administration of it can be reviewed by the court, or if the trustee dies the court itself
can execute the trust a trust therefore which in case of mal-administration could be
reformed and a due administration directed, and then, unless the subject and objects

can be ascertained upon principles familiar in other cases, it must be decided that the
court can neither reform mal-administration nor direct a due administration .
Dharama in Sanskrit means moral law of right conduct; dharman in tamil
comprises something more; it connotes a gift to some object of charity or for a pious
purpose. Subramania Ayyar, J, in parthasarathy pillai V Thiruvengada Pillai has
pinted out that the word dharma when used in connection with gifts of property by a
hindu has a perfectly well-settled meaning and denotes objects indicated by the terms
ishta and purta donations. The word is compendious term referring to certain
classes of pious gifts and is not a mere vague or uncertain expression.
Dedication:
A dedication of property, whether movable or immovable, for a religious or
charitable purposes, may, according to hindu law, be validly made verbally. Even in
the absence of a document and ceremonies such as Sankalpa or Samarpan, dedication
of a property as a question of fact may be established by other evidence. No writing is
necessary to create an endowment except where the endowment is created by will, in
which case the will must be in writing and attested by at least two witnesses if the
case is governed by the Indian Succession Act, sec 57. A dedication made may be
made by gift or by a bequest or by a ceremonial or relinquishment. But a mere credit
entry without setting aside and appropriating the sum credited is insufficient to
constitute an endowment under the hindu law. A dedication of land for a public temple
is not a gift requiring a registered deed and is not governed by Sec 123of transfer of
property act. But property may be transferred by way of gift to the trustee or trustees
of the temple. Such being transfer, being one made to a living person, must however
comply with the requirements of this section .

No Trust Required
In order to create a valid dedication a trust is not required. An appropriation of
property for specific religious purposes or charitable purposes or charitable purposes
ia all that is necessary for a valid dedication. If the property is a tarwad and future
income is allowed to spent, there is valid trust and it cannot be terminated by nonperformance of services. In vidyavaruthi V Balusami Ayyar,

the privy council

observed that there is no trust required for dedication

Dedication may be absolute or partial:
A dedication of property for religious or charitable purposes may be either
absolute or partial .in the former case the property is given out and out to an idol or to
a religious or charitable institution and the donor divests himself of all beneficial
interest in the property comprised in the endowment . Where the dedication is partial,
charge is created on the property or there is a trust to receive and apply a portion of
the income for the religious or charitable purpose. Where record show the property in
the personal names, in the absence of a document showing the dedication it is partial
dedication with charge in favour of the charity . In such case , the property descends
and is alienable and partible in the ordinary way, the only difference being that it
passes with the charge upon it. When a deed was in favour of a person as a manager of
a particular temple, without mentioning the quantity of the expenditure for specific
purposes and when the income was found very meagre and there was no indication as
to how any surplus has to be utilized, it was held that it was a complete dedication to
the temple.the dedication is not invalidated by reason of the fact that the members of
the donors family are nominated trustees and given reasonable remuneration out of the
endowment and out of the endowment and also rights of residence in the dedicated
property.
Proof of dedication:

Very strong and clear evidence of an endowment is required and the onus lies
upon a party who sets up a dedication to prove that property has been inalienably
conferred upon an idol to sustain worship or upon a religious right or charitable
institution . To constitute a trust created or existing for a public purpose of a charitable
or religious nature, the author or authors of the trust must be ascertained and the
intention to create a trust must be indicated by words or acts with reasonable
certainity. Moreover the purpose of the trust, the trust properties and the beneficiaries
must be indicated so as to enable court to administer the trust if required. Where there
is no instrument of gift or trust, the mere fact that the rents and profits of immovable
property have been utilized for the support of an idol or religious or charitable
institution is insufficient to establish an endowment or a dedication.
In cases where there is no real dedication of property but only an attempt to
create a perpetuity in favour of ones own descendants, gifts to the idol is void . Where
however the trust has been effectually created, the fact that the trustees or other
persons concerned have failed to carry out the conditions of the trust will not
invalidate it and neither the founder nor his heirs can resume it . The beneficial
ownership in the trust properties cannot in such circumstances revert to the founder or
his family.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF ENDOWED PROPERTY:
Female Manager:
A female can be the manager of a religious endowment though she cannot
perform spiritual functions . It has been held that a Hindu female is not incompetent
by reason of her sex to succeed to the office of archaka or worshipper in a temple and
to emoluments attached thereto; for, she may appoint a qualified deputy to officiate in
her stead; in case the female appointed as shebait is a minor, or her legal guardian is
competent to accept a gift on behalf of the idol . Where a widow succeeds to

shebaitship she has a widows estate in the same. Where a female heir succeeds to
shebaiti, her interest would be a limited estate unless she lived till after the Hindu
Succession Act of 1956. Any appointment made by her as limited owner ceases on her
death (before the Act 1956) unless there is any specific extra powers conferred on her
as a co-heir.
Position of Shebait, manager or dharmakarta:
The manager of a temple is by virtue of his office the administrator of the
properties attached to it , as regards which he is in position of the trustee. As regards
the service of the temple and the duties appertaining to it, he is rather in the position
of the holder of an office or dignity .
The position of dharmakarta of a public temple is not that of shebait or pujari of
a shrine or of the head of a math. Those functionaries have a much higher right with
larger powers of disposal administration and they have a personal interest of a
beneficial character. The dharmakarta is literally no more than the manager of a
charity and his rights are never in a higher legal category than that of a mere trustee .
There is considerable difference between the position and functions of tha
dharmakarta of a religious endowment in the south on the one hand and pujari
archakas, mahants, head of the maths and shebaits in the north on the order.
Dharmakarta is a mere manager. His liability will be that of a trustee but he holds an
office. It may be held individually, collectively or by a family or by a number of
families. Dharmakarta services with reference to a temple and its properties are just a
bundle of duties and obligations which he holds as an honorary office. A pious Hindu
may accept the trusteeship without material benefit though for its religious benefits.
Prestige and honours are not perquisites attached as such to the office; they are mere
marks of respect commonly shown on visiting dignitaries .

The shebait is one who serves and sustains the deity whose image is installed
in the shrine. The duties and privilges of a shebait are primarily those of one who fills
a sacred office . Shebaitship in its true conception therefore involves two ideas, the
ministrant of deity and its manager, it is not a bare office, but an office together with
certain rights attached to it. A shebaiti interest or office is heritable. Where one
dedicates his estate and appoints himself as a shebait it was held that the property
ceases to be heritable by his heirs. Shebaits and managers have different legal
incidents. Shebait has personal interest of beneficial character in the endowed
property and rights to the office property. A manager is only an administrator with
bare management and his right to the office is not property. A shebait so long as he
continues to be so cannot claim adverse possession against the idol. Where the shebait
executed a document as power of attorney holder of the deity it would not bind the
deity but bind the shebait in his individual capacity. Changing af sect to another sect
which is also a hindu sect by a shebait or marfatdar is no disqualification to act as
shebait or marfatdar, in the absence of any custom prohibiting change of sect .
The position of a shebait, dharmakarta or manager of a temple or other
religious institutuion towards debutter property is not similar to that in England of a
trustee towards the trust property; it is only that certain duties have to be performed by
him which are analogous to those of trustees. They have not the legal property which
is vested in the deity of the institution. Each of them has only the title of manager of a
religious endowment and is as such entitled, subject to usage , to the custody of the
idol and its properties. The hereditary trustees of a temple have generally only a bare
right to administer the secular estate of the institution, or endowment. They do not
have any proprietary right of interest either in the corpus or usufruct of the estate. The
position of hereditary is equivalent to a dharmakarta.

Right to offerings:
The right of a shebait or of a priest to offerings made to an idol naturally
depends upon the nature of offerings in the absence of a custom or an express
declaration by the founder to the contrary. Where they are of a permanent character,
they ordinarily belong to the temple. Where there are perishable they may be
appropriated by the priest or other persons entitled to it by custom. Right to wrship
does not carry right to receive offerings. A suit for division does not lie. But the right
of worship coupled with right to receive offerings is property and a suit against other
joint owners for division of such offerings lies .
Borrowings and alienations for necessity:
The possession and management of the propertyof a religious endowment
belong to a manager, dharamakarta or shebait and this carries with it a right to bring
whatever suits are necessary for the protection of the property. He is bound to do
whatever is necessary for the benefit or preservation of properties of idol. The limit set
to his power of disposition is to maintain and preserve the by proper management the
endowment or religious institution. The nature and extent of the power of alienation
for necessity is laid down in Hanooman Persaud V Mussammat Babooee

the

principle expounded by lord justice Knight Bruce in that case apply not only to a
mother acting a guardian of the property of her minor son and the Hindu widow and to
the karta of the HUF but to the managers of endowments as well. It is, therefore
competent for the manager, shebait or dharamakarta to incur debuts and borrow
money for the proper expenses of keeping up the religious worship, repairing the
temples or other possessions of the idols, instituting or defending hostile litigious
attacks and to prevent the endowed properties from being brought to sale in execution
of decrees binding upon the institution. The power however to incur debts must be
measured by the existing necessity for incurring them. The authority of the manager

of an idols estate is thus analogus to that of the manager for an infant heir whose
power to alienate can only be exercised rightly in a case of need or for the benefit of
the estate. The lender to a math is bound to enquire into the necessity of the math
before he lends money.
A debutter estate may therefore be mortgaged to secure repayment of money
borrowed and applied to prevent its extinction by sequestration. For an absolute
alienation of debutter property, there must it would seem, be an imperative necessity
constraining the manager to make it.
Benefit of the Estate:
No indication is to be found in any of the cases to what is in this connection
the precise nature of the things to be included under the description benefit of the
estate . The preservation however of the estate from extinction the defence against
hostile litigation affecting it, the protection of it or portions from injury or
deterioration by inundation, these and such like things are held to be benefits. But a
manager would not be justified in selling debutter land for the purpose of investing the
price of it so as to bring in more income . In the case of public religious and charitable
endowments it is submitted that benefit to the estate and necessity should mean one
and the same thing; to recognize benefit of the estate as a ground for supporting an
alienation of debutter property, apart from strict necessity, would be to enlarge the
powers of shebaits or Dharmakartas far too much and slowly to undermine the very
foundation of the institution.
Permanent Leases Invalid:
It is beyond the powers of a manager to grant a permanent lease at a fixed rent
in the absence of unavoidable necessity for to fix the rent, though adequate at the
time, in perpetuity in lieu of giving the endowment the benefit of an augmentation of a
variable rent from time to time would be breach of duty on the part of the manager

and is not binding on the deity. In Palaniappa chetty V Sreemath Deivasikamony ,

Lord Atkinson observed : three authorities have been cited which establish that it is a
breach of duty on part of a shebait, unless constrained thereto by unavoidable
necessity, to grant a lease in perpetuity of debutter lands at a fixed rent, however
adequate that rent may be at the time of granting, by reason of the fact that, by his
means the debutter estate is deprived of the chance it would have, if the rent were
variable of deriving benefit from the enhancement in value in the future of that land
leased.
Obligation of Manager:
As the manager is subject to the obligation of a trustee, he should not
however purchase any property belonging to the endowment even though he pays an
abundant price for it . For all moneys expended in carrying out the obligations
imposed upon him as trustee, all expenditure incurred by him in defending his
position as the shebait unsuccessfully assailed , he is entitled to be reimbursed from
the trust estate. This right of indemnity is incident to his position as trustee and the
liability in respect of that indemnity is a charge on the estate .
It is the duty of dharmakarta or manager or shebait to maintain the customary usages
of the institution and if he fails to do so, he is guilty of trust, and still more so, if he
deliberately attempts to effect a vital change of usage and make it binding on the
worshippers by obtaining the decree of a court to establish it .
Liability to account - A shebait, manager or dharmakarta is bound to keep true and
correct accounts of all moneys received and disbursed . Any negligence on the part of
shebait in maintaining accounts cannot lead to adverse inference against deity .
A trustee or a shebait cannot delegate his authority, as fiduciary duties cannot be the
subject of delegation; but it is open to him to appoint a sub agent or manager of the
property; such appointment must only be as a means of carrying out of his own duties

himself and not for the purpose of delegating those duties by means of such
appointment.
Position of Asthal and Head of a mathAs regards the class of institutions known as maths , particularly in South
India, there have been conflicting views as to whether the head of the math is a trustee
or a corporation sole. It is now settled that he is neither the one nor the other; he is
simply the manager of an institution with wider powers those possessed by a
dharmakarta, manager or trustee of a temple. Indeed he acts in two distinct capacities;
he is the spiritual head of the endowment, the shebait of the deity. He is also the
manager of the properties and temporal affairs. The interconnection of the two aspects
of the office council in Ram Prakash Das V Anand Das relating to an asthal and its
mahant.
Limitation of Suits:
Special rules of limitation have now been enacted in respect of Suits for the
recovery of immovable and movable properties which have been alienated by the
manager. Notwithstanding that in law a manager of a religious or charitable institution
is not an express trustee, for the purpose of the Limitation Act the property comprised
in a Hindu religious or charitable endowments, is by section 10 of the Indian
Limitation Act 1908 as amended by act 1 of 1929, deemed to be property vested in
trust for a specific purpose and manager is to be deemed the trustee thereof. The result
is that as against him and his legal representatives or his assigns, not being assigns for
valuable consideration a suit to follow the trust property or its proceeds or for an
account of such property or proceeds is not barred by a length of time.
To set aside Alienations:

A suit to set aside a transfer of property for value made by a manger of a religious or
charitable endowments is governed by Articles 134 A and 48 B of the limitation Act
prescribing periods of twelve and three years, according as the property is immovable
or movable, from the time when the transfer becomes known to the plaintiff. The
articles relate to suits by persons interested in the endowment to set aside alienation
made by the manager .
To recover property:
A suit by the manager of a religious or charitable endowment to recover possession of
immovable property comprised in the endowment which has been transferred, or of
movable property which has been sold, by a previous manager for a valuable
consideration must be brought within twelve years from the death, removal or
resignation of the transferor or of the seller under articles 134 B and 134 C of the
Indian Limitation Act . Art 134 B would be apply to a suit to recover possession of
immovable property from alienee, even where there is an interval of time between the
death resignation of removal of the manager who effected the alienation in question
and the election or appointment of the subsequent manager .
Decrees against managers and heads:
A decree passed in a suit against a shebait, manager or dharmakarta, as representing
an idol or religious or charitable institutions is binding on his successors, provided it
was passed without any fraud or collusion. The reason is that the successors in office
from a continuing representation of the property of the idol or the math ,
Devolution of Managership:
The devolution of office of Shebait of an idol or of dharmakarta of a temple or
manager of a charitable endowment, upon the death or termination of office of the
incumbent, depends upon the term upon which it was created or the usage of each

particular institution, where no express deed of trust of foundation exists . Where there
is a failure of the line of succession to the office of shebaitship prescribed by the
founder, the shebaitship will not revert to the heirs of the founder unless expressly
stipulated. The vacancy can be supplied by court. Where the deed of endowments
provided that K shall be the manager and after his death his eldest son and this way
the only eldest son or daughters son only were to be the managers it was held that the
line of succession created by the founder was unknown to Hindu Law and succession
of line is to be held invalid.
Jurisdiction of Court:
The courts have jurisdiction to remove managers of public religious or charitable
endowments and to make them accountable for breaches of trust. There is however no
hard and fast rule that every manager of a shrine who has arrogated himself to the
position of owner should be removed from his trust; each case must be decided with
reference to its circumstance. A person who has been in de facto possession and
management of the Astan and its properties for a long time claiming to be its trustee
under the decree of court (valid or invalid) has sufficient interest to maintain
proceedings for the warding off a cloud case by the dependents against the interests of
the Astan. As courts have duty to see that the interest of the public trust are
safeguarded will allow that suit. The grounds for removing a shebait from his office
may not be identical with those upon which trustee would be removed. The close
intermingling of duties and personal interest which together make up the office of
Shebait may well prevent the application of analogy; but as part of office, it is
indisputable that there are duties which must be performed that the estate does need to
be safeguarded and kept in proper custody; and if it be found that a man in the
exercise of his duties has put himself in a position in which the court thinks that the
obligations of his office can no longer be faithfully discharged by him, that is
sufficient ground for his removal. The true rule in such matters can be stated to be that

if it is found by the court that the functionary, in the exercise of his duties, has put
himself in a position in which the court thinks that the obligations of his office in
connection with the endowment can no longer be faithfully discharged without the
danger to the endowments that is sufficient ground for his removal, if need be, from
both his offices (spiritually as well as secular). Where a trustee asserted his own
ownership of temple properties and supported his claim by concocted accounts, the
Privy Council held that it was not open on any sound principle of administration or of
law to continue such a person as a trustee. Where the properties in question belong to
a math, the head of the math is answerable for mal-administration as a trustee in a
general sense, though he may not be an express trustee in the English sense. Lacking
the temple and going away in the part of a poojari amounts to misconduct and
disentitles him to hold the office .
Legislature on religious or charitable purposes:
The ultimate decision on whether or not an endowment is religious or/and charitable
rests not with the settler but withthe legislature and the court. The definition of
charitable and religious endowments asgiven in the Rajasthan Public Trusts Act, 1950
may be taken as a model for the legislature s understanding of these endowmwents,
Section 2(3) Charitable Endowments means all property given or endowed for the
benefit of, or used as of right by the community or any section thereof for the support
or maintenance of object of utility to the said community or section such as resthouses, pathshalas, schools, colleges, houses for feeding the poor and institutions for
advancement of education, medical relief and public health or other subjects of a like
nature and includes institutions concerned.
Section 2(13) Religious Endowments or endowments means all property belonging
to or given or endowed for the support of a religious institution or given or endowed
for the performance of any service or charity connected therewith and includes the

premises of the religious institution as well as the idols, if any, installed therein and
nay public charity associated with a festival or observance of a religious character
whether connected with a religious institution or not, but does not include.
Section 2(15) of the Inco me Ta x Act, 1961 defines charitable purposes:Charitable
purpose includes relie f of the poor, education, medical relief and the advancement of
any other object of general public utility not involving the carrying on of any activity
for profit. gifts of property made as personal gifts to the trustee or hereditary trustee
or working trustee of such institution or to any service holder or other employee
thereof.
Courts on Religious and Charitable purposes
In the following cases the court held the endowment to be for religious purposes under
the Hindu Law: for the worship of the family deity for the performance of the shradha
of ones self and of ones ancestors, for the propagation of Nama Dharma and
continuance of Sarban Kirtan Dharma for the shelter of sadhus, saints and religious
mendicants.
In the following cases the object of the endowment was held not to be religious or
charitable: entombment of the settler and worship at his tomb. The Supreme Court
held that the entombment of ordinary individuals is not enjoined by the Hindu
Shastras, nor does it enjoy wide recognition as a religious practice of a substantial and
large class of persons. But if the Samadhi is that of a great saint who is deified and
worshipped, it is a valid endowment.
Essentials of religious and charitable trust under Hindu law
There are four essential requirements for creating a valid religious or charitable
trust under Hindu Law:

1. Valid religious as charitable purpose of the trust as per the norms of

Hindu Law.
2. Capability of the author of the trust to create such a trust.
3. The purpose and property of the trust must be indicated with sufficient
precision.
4. The trust must not violate any law of the country.
The religious and charitable purpose are neither delineated nor defined with
precision under the Hindu Law.
However, acts of piety and benevolence such as gifts to idols, establishment
of Dharmasala, mutts or monasteries, performance of 'Sradhs' of the author of
the trust or his family excavation of tanks, wells etc, establishment of hospitals,
educational institute etc. qualify as religious and charitable under the Hindu
Law.
No document in writing is necessary to constitute valid religious and charitable
trust by a Hindu. Only there has to be a clear and unequivocal manifestation of
an intention on the part of the author to create such a trust.
Such

intention

may

be

manifested

by

performing

the

ceremonies

of sankalpa and samarpan. But these ceremonies are not essential for the
Validity of the trust.
THE

OBJECT

OF

THE

HINDU

RELIGIOUS

AND

CHARITABLE

ENDOWMENT ACT
The religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution so the intervention of
the Government in the administration of religious institution through the Statutory
Boards may seen paradoxical. There was no mention of temples in Vedic Collection of
Hymns and Prayers. When fire was lit oblations were said to be made in the place

there at. In later Brahmana period temples were Constructed for accommodation of
images of gods. Charities began to flourish and valuable endowments such as landed
properties for pious purposes were well established in later period the cult of religious
worship developed and Gifts for religious and Charitable purposes were impelled by
the desire to acquire religious merit. So the Hindu temples are founded, endowed and
maintained generally for the benefit of general Hindu public.
In earlier period it was a private affair and as an when the temples became
inspiring centres of the Social and Cultural life of the Community, Centres of
promotion and patronage of art and architecture, and other fine arts, and began to
serve as a centres of learning and fostering and growth of the piety and learning and as
an effective instrument of poor-relief, it began to become a public affair. Thereafter
out of the rituals for establishment of endowments which became an object of general
public utility. Since dedication is the renunciation of ownership, to the deity, and
hence began the accumulation assets beyond imagination and slowly mismanagement,
discrepancies, and mal administration began to Geep into the temple administration to
keep it within the domain of persons with ulterior motive. The avaricious began to
rool the roost of temple affairs, which invited the intervention of the Government to
the administration of religious institutions. But the objectives of various enactments of
the yester years would mention, as an effort to put an end to the greed of the power
mongers, whose quarrelsome contest to grab the flourishing assets of even the
almighty, and to protect and make due upkeep of the temple and properties attached
thereto, from anti social elements for its eternal existence. As such the object of the
legislation of the Madras Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowment Act 1951, as
indicated in the preamble is to amend and consolidate thelaw relating to the
administration and governance of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowment. So the
Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowment Act exists for better administration,
protection and preservation of temples and the endowed properties attached thereto,

and for fulfillment of the objects, with reasonable restrictions, which do not violate
the rights of religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution.
CONCLUSION
The Hindu religion is considered to be one of the oldest religions in the world. Hindu
religion encompasses itself several castes/sub castes of different shape and different
colour. The caste and sub caste also very from State to State or from region to region.
The practice also varies to a large extent. The Hindu religion at best can be considered
to be a case of unity in diversity. The Hindu religion is based on scriptures such as
Upanishads, vedaa, Geetha etc. Hindu religion is considered to be a way of life. Hindu
religion permits worship of even inanimate objects-Ashwatha vriksha is worshipped/
Nagadevatas are worshipped/soil is worshipped/ sea is worshipped to give few
examples.
Religious and Charitable Endowments throws light on how people have been
dedicating their property in the name of Religion to Deities and Non Profitable Trusts.
People have been doing this service to attain satisfactory Moksha after death. Thus
provided the knowledge about the Administration, Uses, legal aspect of those
endowed properties.