The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court upholding allotment of 100 acres belonging to Sri Laxmi Narayana Swamy temple under the control of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to the TTD staff.
A Bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and Vikaramajit Sen stayed the High Court order after hearing senior counsel Shyam Divan and counsel Balaji Srinivasan and Vipin Nair for the petitioner, D.R. Narendra, challenging the judgment.
The petitioner contended that it was a well-established principle of law that an idol was a perpetual minor and that the courts were its custodian and the property attached to the idol should be protected and preserved.
He said the resolution passed by the TTD Board in October 2006 alienating 100 acres of Narayana Swamy temple lands and 45 acres of the Board land for the staff was against public interest and did not satisfy any of the mandatory requirements.
He said the lands were sold to the employees despite a legal bar. Even assuming that the lands could be transferred, it could only be done through auction to fetch highest price. There could not be transfer of lands to the employees at a subsidised rate and the action of the TTD Board was against public interest.
