Religious Endowment

under Hindu Law

• Endowment means property dedicated for religious charitable
purposes.
• The most important endowments in Hinduism
• A) Devsthanam
• B) Maths
Creation of Endowments
• 1.The dedication must be complete
• The ceremonies of dedication begin with the sankalpa, i.e. the
intention to dedicate, manifested by performing certain ceremonies,
which include the recitation of time, date and year of dedication, and
of the object the founder has in his mind. The utsarga completes the
gift. It implies the renunciation of the ownership by the giver in the
thing given.
2. The subject matter must be specific
The second essential of valid endowment is that property dedicated
must be specific. The words of gift used by the testator must be
unambiguous and that the subject matter of the gift must be well
defined and certain. Any uncertainty about the subject matter of the
dedication will be fatal to the creation of endowment. Thus, where the
testator gave direction in the will that the money should be spent for a
certain charity, but did not specify the amount, it was held that no valid
endowment came into existence.
3.The object must be definite
• What are purely religious purposes and what charitable purposes will be
charitable, must be entirely decided according to Hindu Law and Hindu
notions.
• 4. The settler must have capacity to make the endowment
• The fourth requirement for the validity of an endowment is that the
settler must be of sound mind and a major and he should not suffer
from any legal disqualification. Under the dayabhaga school, the father
as well as a coparcener has the absolute power over all properties, self
acquired or inherited. So, a father or a coparcener under the Dayabhaga
School have full power of creating endowments.
 Math
• In the ordinary parlance, Math means an abode or residence of ascetics. In
it’s legal connotation, it is a monastic institution presided over by it’s head,
known as Mahant, a superior ascetic, and established for the use and
benefit of ascetics generally or of ascetics belonging to a particular order,
ordinarily, the disciples of mahant. The basic purpose of a math is to
encourage and faster spiritual learning and knowledge, by maintenance of a
competent line of teachers who impart religious instruction to disciples and
followers of the Math and to strengthen the doctrines of the sect or school
to which Math subscribes. There can be sudra maths also. Although, the
mahant is the head of the math, but the property dedicated to a math
doesn’t vest in him, but it vests in the math itself as a juristic person.
 Powers and Obligations of Mahant
• So far the management and possession of the properties of a Matha
is concerned it belongs to the Mahant.
• The only restriction is that the Mahant can not spend any thing out of
it for his personal use unconnected with the dignity of his office.
• In Mahadeo v. Meeno Devi (1976), it was held that the power of the
mahant in no case extend to alienating the assets of the math for the
benefits of the own dependants.
• He is the head and superior of spiritual farternity
 The Shebaitship
• The person in whom the management of the debutter is vested is
known by various names: the terms Shebait is commonly used in
Bengal; he is called the Dharmakarta in Tamilnadu and Andhra
Pradesh; and Panchayatdar in Tanjore and Malabar. In English the
term manager is used for him, but as it fails to depict his real position
and powers. It is only in a very broad sense that he is like a manager.
As regards the endowed properties, he is more like trustee, as regard
his functions and duties towards the temple in spiritual sense, he is a
holder of an office of dignity.
 Powers and Obligations of Shebait
• The powers and duties of Shebait are both spiritual and temporal. In
respect of spiritual duties, he must perform seva and puja of the idol. The
custody of the idol belongs to him. Ordinarily, shebait cannot remove
deity. But in case removal of deity is necessary, the will of the deity should
be given effect to; the will can be expressed through its shebait. Shebait is
entitled to the possession and custody of the endowed properties. But he
cannot assert an adverse title against the title, as it is through him that the
idol acts. He is entitled to management of the debutter. If there are more
than one debutter than all must act in unison. If they are not able to act in
unison then one cannot file a suit of injunction against the other, the only
remedy is to get the scheme laid down by the court.
• A Shebait as manager of the property has the ownership and
possession of the property and he can file a suit for the protection
and profits of the deity's property. He can incur debts for the worship
of the temple, for the repair of temple or for the protection of the
belongings of the temple or for contesting the suit or saving the
property from being sold for the execution of the decree.
• Shebait is that person who serves the deity, consecrated in the temple
as a Devata. Shebaitship represents two parts—Maintenance of deity
and management thereof. It is not only an office simply but is also
accompanied by certain rights.
• The Supreme Court has held in Prafulla Charan v. Satya Charan, that
the property dedicated to an idol vest in it, is an ideal sense only; ex-
necessities, the possession and management has to be entrusted to
some human agent, called Shebait in the North. The legal character of
Shebait cannot be defined with precision and exactituted. Broadly
described he is the human ministrant and custodian of the idol as its
earthly spokesman, its authorized representative entitled to deal with
all its temporal affairs and manage its property.