HC to Maharashtra: Form Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan temple trust panel afresh in 8 weeks

PUNE/NASHIK: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay HC Tuesday quashed the state's September 16, 2021, notification appointing a 12-member management committee to the Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan temple trust, and directed the government to constitute a new committee, in line with the principles and procedure laid down by the HC, within 8 weeks.
Ahmednagar resident Uttam Shelke had filed a PIL challenging the notification and contended that the committee had political appointees, among other violations.
"If the state government would have appointed independent trustees and not the politicians, who are having close connection with the ruling party, the said Sansthan Trust, which is a public trust and is a custodian of public money and properties, would have saved huge amount of public money spent on unnecessary litigations," the bench of Justice R D Dhanuka and Justice S G Mehare observed in an 83-page ruling.
The bench made stringent observations against (successive) "state government in last decades" over "favouritism" in the appointment of the trustees based on political consideration and not merit.
The bench observed that is "contrary to the principles laid down by the SC and this court and in gross violation of the provisions conferring such power upon the state government under the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi) Act, 2004."
The bench directed the government to constitute a new committee, in line with the principles and procedure laid down by the HC, within a period of eight weeks. Till then, an ad hoc committee composed of Ahmednagar's principal district judge, Ahmednagar district collector and the Sansthan's chief executive officer will look after the day-to-day affairs of the trust, the bench ruled.
NCP's former legislator, Jayant Jadhav, one of the members of the now set aside management committee, said "We will exercise the remedy of an appeal before the SC against the HC judgment."
Last year, Shirdi resident Uttam Rambhaji Shelke filed a PIL challenging the state's notification, alleging that the management committee's appointment was done in a non-transparent manner and in violation of provisions of the Act that governs the temple trust.
The committee had political appointees (NCP's Kopargaon MLA Ashutosh Kale as chairman) and was bereft of members from socially and economically backward classes and people with specialised education/knowledge background of public health and business management.
"The state government in this case has not bothered to follow the principles laid down or the directions issued in a series of earlier judgments (on appointments of trustees)," the bench said.