In a setback to the Maharashtra authorities, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay Excessive Court docket on Friday (December 12) put aside the September 22, 2025 Authorities Decision (GR) appointing the Collector of Ahilyanagar district as Administrator of the Shree Shanaishwar Devasthan Belief at Shingnapur.
The courtroom additionally quashed the September 30 communication issued by the Collector in his capability as Administrator, by way of which an 11-member committee was appointed to handle the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahilyanagar district.
Ordering that “established order ante be maintained”, the HC directed the Collector and the committee appointed by him handy over the Belief’s movable and immovable properties to the erstwhile trustees inside seven days. It mentioned the state authorities was at liberty to take additional steps below the Shingnapur Belief Act, 2018, after framing guidelines below the legislation. Till then, the earlier board of trustees would function the Belief’s checking account.
A bench of Justices Vibha V Kankanwadi and Hiten S Venegavkar delivered the decision on a plea filed by the elected trustees whose time period was set to run out on December 31, 2025. The state authorities had dissolved the board citing mismanagement and alleged corruption and appointed the Collector as Administrator.
Arguing for the petitioners, advocate Satish B Talekar submitted that the GR issued by the Legislation and Judiciary Division was “arbitrary”, that the federal government had no energy to nominate an Administrator below the prevailing legislation, and that the trustees weren’t required handy over cost to the District Collector. He mentioned each the appointment of the Collector and the managing committee have been unlawful.
Opposing the plea, Collector Pankaj Ashiya acknowledged in an affidavit that the committee had already taken cost earlier than the HC’s October 4 “established order” order and that the Supreme Court docket had dismissed the attraction in opposition to that order. He mentioned the temple’s actions have been working easily.
The bench held that “the state authorities had no energy to nominate Collector, Ahilyanagar as Administrator below the Shingnapur Belief Act, 2018,” and due to this fact “the acts completed by the Administrator and the Committee constituted by him with none authority are unlawful and, due to this fact, established order ante is required to be granted.”
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It famous that possession of the Belief property had not been taken and mentioned the place previous to the impugned GR should be restored.
Whereas observing that the state authorities is empowered to deliver a legislation into drive and operationalise its provisions, the HC mentioned it “can not journey past the identical.” It identified that though the 2018 legislation permits the federal government to nominate as much as 9 individuals to the managing committee, this will solely be completed as soon as guidelines and qualification standards are prescribed — which had not been completed.
The bench additional famous that the efficient implementation of the Shingnapur Belief Act, 2018 required well timed framing of guidelines and that such “subordinate legislative measures are important for clear appointment of the Administration Committee, qualification requirements, operational protocols, and monetary accountability.”
The courtroom directed the state authorities to “full the rule-making course of with due expedition in order that the statutory mandate is operationalised in its entirety.”
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