Status quo on term of temple trustees: Hyderabad High Court

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday granted status quo on a decision of the Telangana state government to reduce the term of office of temple trustees from two years to one, from the date of taking oath of office and secrecy.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, was dealing with a petition by Pally Narasimha Reddy, the chairman of the Trust Board of the Sri Kethaki Sangameswara Swamy Devasthanam, in Medak district, and 8 other Trust members who had challenged the decision of the government.

V. Ravi Kiran Rao, the counsel for the petitioners submitted that the government had issued a notification on November 1, 2014, to reduce the term of temple trustees in the state.

He submitted that the government prescribed one-year term for the Trust boards, but later it was extended to two years because one-year term is not sufficient for the effective administration of the Trust boards or for taking up development activities.

He contended that for political reasons, the government reduced the term again to one year without citing any reason. The bench directed the government to maintain status quo and file its counter affidavit within three weeks on the plea.