Bombay HC quashes 2021 order of Maharashtra govt appointing members to Shirdi Saibaba temple trust's managing committee

Bombay High Court. File Pic

The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside the Maharashtra government's 2021 order making appointments to the managing committee of the Shree Sai Baba Shirdi Sansthan Trust.

The committee which manages the famous Sai Baba temple at Shirdi was not meant for accommodating politicians from a ruling party, said a division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and S G Mehare.

"We direct the State Government to constitute a new 'Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Management Committee' within a period of eight weeks from today," the bench ordered.

Until a new committee is formed, the affairs of the trust shall be managed by an ad-hoc (temporary) committee headed by the Principal District Judge of Ahmednagar district, the HC said.

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The order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Uttamrao Shelke who had challenged the constitution of the existing committee.

Political personalities were appointed to the committee without following any ¿transparent procedure" and in violation of the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust Act, the PIL claimed.

The bench accepted the petitioner's argument.

The trust has been created for guarding the interests of the devotees of Sai Baba and "not the private interest of the ruling Government to accommodate their party workers or politicians," the order said.

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