AP HC: No Use Of Temple Land For Commercial Purposes
The court ruled that the state government must not proceed with the allotment and prohibited the use of temple land for commercial purposes
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2025-09-16 18:46 GMT
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the state government not to use endowment land for any commercial purposes, to remove gravel dumped on it, and to restore it to its original status.
A single-judge bench, headed by Justice N. Harinath, heard a petition on Tuesday by B. Sujay Kumar and two others challenging a letter from the Krishna District Collector to the Endowments Principal Secretary dated July 22. The letter sought allotment of nearly 35 acres of land belonging to Godugupeta Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple for conducting an annual exhibition titled ‘Vijayawada Utsav’.
The petitioners’ counsel, J.V. Phanidhat, argued that the land was under agricultural use and should not be allotted for an exhibition. Government special pleader S. Pranithi countered that the land had already been converted from agricultural use, and there was no legal bar to allotting it for commercial purposes. She added that the organisers had paid Rs 45 lakh, which would be used for temple development, and the exhibition would run for only 56 days.
After hearing both sides, the court ruled that the state government must not proceed with the allotment and prohibited the use of temple land for commercial purposes. The next hearing is scheduled for October 6.