The Rajasthan High Court has held that mere construction of a Dharamshala on a private land could not lead to a presumption that the property was allotted for charitable purposes, or had to be perpetually used for such objectives.

The bench of Justice Rekha Borana made the above observations while allowing a petition filed by the legal heirs of a Trust that challenged the order of the Commissioner, Devasthan Department that declared their ancestral property as a public trust property.

The Court perused the records, and highlighted that the land was purchased by the petitioner's forefathers in 1916 after paying full consideration and Patta nowhere contained the stipulation that restricted its usage to only charitable purposes.

In this light, the Court rejected the Commissioner's finding that the property was allotted at a concessional rate for constructing a Dharamshala.

Reference was made to the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kuldeep Chand v Advocate General, H.P. in which it was held that in absence of any formal and written instrument establishing endowment as a public trust, it could not be concluded that there was any intention of dedicating the land for charitable purposes relinquishing right of ownership.

Hence, while quashing the Commissioner's order that treated the land as property of a public trust, the Court affirmed that only the portion already used for Dharamshala, for which a separate trust deed existed, shall remain dedicated to that purpose.

Accordingly, the petition was allowed.

Title: Prem Prakash Bihani & Ors. v the State of Rajasthan & Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 379

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