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State of M.P. and Others v. Murti Shri Chaturbhujnath and Others

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1196Decided 25 Oct 2019
Civil Appeal No. 956 of 2010
Justice Navin Sinha · Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Background

A deity-run temple's land records originally listed its Pujaris (priests) as occupants while ownership stood in the name of the Deity. In 1979-80, the revenue authorities unilaterally changed the records to designate the Collector as "Vyawasthapak" (Manager), implying the temple was a public one under government oversight. The Pujaris challenged this change, and their suit for declaration and injunction was decreed in their favour after the first appeal, which the State then challenged all the way to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the correction to the revenue records in 1979-80 was never made following the mandatory procedure under Section 115 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959, which requires a proper inquiry and a hearing for affected parties before such a correction. Since this procedural safeguard was skipped, both the First Appellate Court and the High Court had rightly held the change unsustainable. The Court also distinguished the State's cited precedents, noting this temple was not listed among public temples and the land had not been leased from the Government. The appeal was dismissed, while clarifying that the authorities remain free to follow the correct Section 115 procedure if they wish to revisit the entries in future.

Lesson Learnt

Government authorities cannot alter land or property records to a citizen's detriment without following the required notice-and-hearing procedure first: procedural shortcuts, even for a seemingly administrative correction, can be struck down regardless of the underlying intent.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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