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2. The facts and circumstances giving rise to the filing of the present Writ Petition, briefly stated, are as under:

The land bearing Revision Survey No.1052/2, situated at Village Vita, Taluka Khanapur, District Sangli, admeasuring 14 Acres and 28 Gunthas (hereinafter referred to as "the said land") belonged to a religious institution, namely, Mhaswad Sidha Devasthan. The said land was classified as Devasthan Inam Class III land in the Land Alienation Register prepared by the Inam Commission, and the corresponding Sanad number of such Inam grant is recorded as 8673. The petitioners have placed on record a copy of the Inam Patrak obtained from the Pune Archives Office, which describes the said land as Devasthan Inam land. Furthermore, the Dumala Land Register (Gaon Namuna No.3), maintained in the village Chawdi by the Talathi under the supervision of the Tahsildar, reflects that the said land is recorded as Devasthan Inam land. The said register further evidences the 4-wp1811-2019-F.doc existence of the Deity (Devasthan Institution), the continuance of religious rites and rituals associated therewith, and the utilization of profits and income generated from the land for the benefit of the Deity.

10. The learned Advocate further invited the attention of this Court to the scrutiny sheet prepared by the Tahsildar, Khanapur, and the Circle Officer, which categorically states that the land enjoyed full exemption from payment of land revenue. He placed reliance on the Government Resolution dated 31st May 1996 issued by the Revenue Department for the purpose of governance, maintenance, and regulation of Devasthan Inam lands. The said Government Resolution records that in several cases, Devasthan lands are not in possession of the Devasthans or the Inamdars; that Devasthans are not being properly managed; that religious functions are not being appropriately held; and that such lands are being alienated after obtaining permission from the Charity Commissioner. In view of the aforesaid concerns, the Government directed that the Revenue Officers shall visit the Devasthans and 4-wp1811-2019-F.doc take necessary steps to ensure proper maintenance and management of Devasthan lands and to prevent unauthorized transfers without requisite permission.

21. In Maharashtra, Devasthan Inam lands which are classified as Class III lands are governed by a legal principle called res extra 4-wp1811-2019-F.doc commercium. This Latin term simply means "things which are outside the market." Under this principle, properties given for religious, charitable, or public purposes are not treated like normal property. They cannot be freely bought, sold, gifted, mortgaged, or transferred like private property. They can only be transferred if there is a special law allowing it. The main reason for treating Devasthan Inam lands like this is to make sure that temple lands and religious properties remain protected and continue to be used for religious worship and charitable work. It stops people from misusing or selling these lands for private profit. The special protection given to Devasthan lands ensures that they are preserved for the public good and for the purposes for which they were originally gifted. It helps maintain the holiness of these lands and ensures that religious worship and service to the community continue without any disturbance. Thus, by placing restrictions on selling or transferring Devasthan lands, the law protects religious institutions from losing their properties due to unauthorized deals or misuse.

29. In the case of other types of land grants, it was allowed in history that when land was sold or transferred, a premium called nazrana could be charged by the Government. But for Devasthan Inam lands, Section 8(3) of the 1863 Act clearly says that even nazrana cannot be charged. This shows that the lawmakers were very clear, Devasthan Inam lands are not to be sold or transferred at all, not even with the Government's permission or by paying a premium. In practice, sometimes revenue officers have wrongly treated Devasthan lands like other restricted lands and have demanded nazrana or given permission for sale. But under the 1863 Act, the State Government has no legal power to allow any sale or transfer of Devasthan lands. Any such permission given by an officer or by the Government, allowing sale of Devasthan land by taking nazrana, is illegal and has no value in the eyes of law. Even though the State Government has wide powers to manage land revenue matters generally, when it comes to Devasthan lands, it cannot break or override Section 8(3) of the 1863 Act. Very importantly, the Act does not give any power to the Government to 4-wp1811-2019-F.doc remove the entry in the land records which shows the land as "Devasthan Inam (Class III)." Even if, by some mistake or order, the Government deletes the Devasthan entry from the record, it does not change the fact that the land belongs to a deity or religious trust. The restriction under Section 8(3) continues to apply so long as the land is actually held for a religious institution. Thus, even if the Devasthan entry is deleted, the Government cannot permit the land to be sold unless it is formally decided by a Court that the land was never Devasthan land in the first place.