Justice R. Raghunandan Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the State government to consider granting exemption to the temples having an annual income of up to ₹5 lakh from the provisions of the A.P. Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987, including the requirement to make mandatory contributions to the Endowments Department in the light of a Supreme Court verdict.
“The exercise is to be conducted within four months from the date of the order dated May 5, 2022,” the court said.
Justice Raghunandan Rao issued the direction to the Principal Secretary - Revenue (Endowments); the Commissioner of Endowments; and the Executive Officer of Sri Alaparthamma temple at Alaparru village of Nagaram mandal in Guntur district while disposing of a petition filed by the temple’s founder family member, Allaparthi Venkata Chalapathi Rao, citing the apex court judgment in Sri Divi Kodandarama Sarma and others Vs State of A.P.
The petitioner’s contention was that the registration under the said Act cast a liability on the temple to make mandatory payments to the Endowments Department, which effectively takes away a significant chunk of its annual income.
Therefore, the court said that the government should reconsider it’s decision to exempt only those temples having an annual income of less than ₹2 lakh from making the said contributions, so that all temples with annual income of up to ₹5 lakh were spared of the burden.
