Section 24 in The Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act, 1951
24. Resumption and re-grant of inam granted for the performance of any charity or service connected with a math or temple in case of alienation of the inam or of failure to perform the charity or service.
(1)Any exchange, gift, sale or mortgage and any lease for a term exceeding five years, of the whole or any portion of any inam or jagir granted for the support or maintenance of a religious institution or for the performance of a charity or service connected therewith or of any other religious charity made, confirmed or recognised by the State Government shall be null and void.(2)(a)The Collector may, on his own motion, or on the application of the trustee of the religious institution or of the Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner or of any person having interest in the institution who has obtained the consent of such trustee or the Commissioner, by order, resume the whole or any part of any such inam or jagir on one or more of the following grounds, namely :(i)that the trustee of the institution or the holder of such inam or jagir or part, as the case may be, has made an exchange, gift, sale or mortgage of such inam or part or any portion thereof or has granted a lease of the same or any portion thereof for a term exceeding five years ; or(ii)that the religious institution has ceased to exist or the charity or service in question has in any way become impossible or incapable of performance ; or(iii)that the holder of such inam or jagir or part has failed to perform or make the necessary arrangements for performing, in accordance with the custom or usage, the charity or service for performing which the inam had been made, confirmed or recognized as aforesaid, or any part of the said charity or service, as the case may be; or(iv)that such service is no longer required.When passing an order under this clause, the Collector shall determine whether such inam or jagir or the inam comprising such part, as the case may be, is a grant of both the landlord's interest and the ryot's interest or only of the landlord's interest :Provided that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Collector shall presume that any minor inam is a grant of both the landlord's interest and the ryot's interest.(b)Before passing an order under Clause (a), the Collector shall give notice to the trustee, to the Commissioner, to the Assistant Commissioner, to the inamdar concerned or where only a part of the inam is affected, to the holder of such part as well as to holders of the other part or parts and to the aliene, if any, of the inam, hear their objections, if any, and hold such inquiry as may be prescribed.(c)A copy of every order passed under Clause (a) shall be communicated to each of the persons mentioned in Clause (b) and shall also be published in the manner prescribed.(d)(i)Any party aggrieved by an order of the Collector under Clause (a) may appeal to the Collector of the district within such time as may be prescribed and on such appeal the Collector of the district may, after giving notice to the Commissioner and each of the persons mentioned in Clause (b) and after holding such inquiry as may be prescribed, pass an order confirming, modifying or cancelling the order of the Collector.(ii)The order of the Collector of the district on such appeal, or the order of the Collector under Clause (a) where no appeal is preferred under Sub-clause (i) to the district Collector within the time prescribed, shall be final:Provided that where there has been an appeal under Sub-clause (i) and it has been decided by the Collector of the district or where there has been no appeal to the Collector of the district and the time for preferring an appeal has expired, any party aggrieved by the final order of the Collector of the district or the Collector, as the case may be, may file a suit in the Civil Court for determining whether that inam comprises both landlord's interest and the ryot's interest or only the landlord's interest. Such a suit shall be instituted within one year from the date of the order of the Collector of the district on appeal where there has been an appeal under Sub-clause (i) or from the date of the expiry of the period prescribed under Sub-clause (i) for an appeal to the Collector of the district in a case where there has been no appeal.(e)Except as otherwise provided in Clause (d), an order of resumption passed under this section shall not be liable to be questioned in any Court of law.(f)Where any inam or part of any inam is resumed under this section, the Collector or the Collector of the district, as the case may be, shall by order, regrant such inam or part-(i)as an endowment to the religious institution concerned, or(ii)in case of a resumption on the ground that the religious institution has ceased to exist or that the charity of service in question has in any way become impossible or incapable of performance, as an endowment for appropriation to such religious, educational or charitable institution as the Commissioner may recommend.(g)The order of regrant made under Clause (f) shall, on application made to the Collector within the time prescribed, be executed by him in the manner prescribed.(h)Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of Section 23.
