HC reinstates Ashok Gajapathi Raju as the chairman of MANSAS Trust

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh on Monday struck down G.O. Ms. Nos 72 and 74, by way of which Sanchaita Gajapathi Raju was appointed as the hereditary trustee/chairperson of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Vari Devasthanam at Simhachalam and the MANSAS (Maharaja Alak Narayan Society of Arts & Science) Trust respectively final yr, and ordered that P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju be reinstated as chairman of each the trusts.

Mr. Ashok stated in his petitions that the established observe in the Simhachalam Devasthanam had been for the “eldest male lineal descendant” of the Pusapati Gajapathi household of the princely State of Vizianagaram to be the hereditary trustee and it was in vogue for greater than three centuries and continued even after the temple got here beneath the purview of the Madras Endowment Act of 1951 and subsequently Acts 17 of 1966 and 30 of 1987 of Andhra Pradesh.

He asserted that Ms. Sanchaita had no authorized declare to be claimed as a “founder family member” as per Sec.17 of Act 30, 1987 depart alone being appointed as the hereditary trustee when members of the household belonging to the earlier era had been there.

Mr. Ashok stated in his petition that the authorities’s jurisdiction on the MANSAS Trust was very restricted as it was a public charitable belief and its functioning was guided by the belief deed executed by the settlor. He additionally cited sure provisions of the Puucho Succession Act and varied judgments as lending credence to his arguments.