Who Holds The Title To Devaryamjal’s 1,500 Acres?

A long-running dispute over roughly 1,521.13 Acres in Devaryamjal Village, Medchal-Malkajgiri District has resurfaced before the Telangana High Court, crystallising a wider problem of temple-land encroachments and opaque revenue records in the State, and the government has told the Court that this land belong to the Sri Seetharama (Sri Sitarama) Swamy temple and were wrongly shown as private patta land, while private claimants point to sale deeds and continuous possession dating back to 1937.

Temple and endowment lands are governed by the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (and administered by the State Endowments Department). Lands vested in a deity or temple are treated as public endowments; transfers or conversions require strict compliance with endowments and revenue law and are vulnerable to challenge where registers or procedures have been faulty. The State says archival revenue records (pahani, chowfasla, sethwar entries) dating to the 1920s–1930s show the lands in the temple’s name and that later record alterations produced private pattas without proper ROR entries or passbooks a procedural defect central to the State’s case.

A Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) inquiry in 2021 reportedly confirmed that over 1,400 acres remain endowment property and flagged numerous suspect registrations. That probe and media reports of large-scale encroachments prompted the State to classify the parcels in the “prohibited properties” list, generating hundreds of writ petitions from aggrieved parties.[1]

The High Court has also pressed the government to publish accurate prohibited-lands lists and to create a transparent remedy mechanism, pursuant to which in August 2025 the State constituted a three-member panel (pursuant to G.O. Ms. No. 98), including the CCLA and a retired judge, empowered to review and issue reasoned orders confirming, deleting or modifying entries on the prohibited list; its decisions are to be binding until challenged in court, and the Administration has also moved to digitise and survey temple lands to prevent future encroachments.[2]

Conclusion:

This shows that legal due diligence of title to immoveable property is essential, especially with respect to checking the Government’s list of prohibited properties and obtain certified ROR/pahani extracts before completing transfers. Further, it appears that historical sale deeds can be potentially set aside if they were affected by tampered revenue records or without statutory clearance from endowment authorities[3], and parties claiming long possession should be prepared for detailed documentary and survey scrutiny and for adjudication by the special committee or courts.

[1] The Registration Act 1908, s 22-A (as inserted by the Andhra Pradesh [Telangana Area] Amendment Act 1999, and adopted by the State of Telangana).

[2] Government of Telangana, Revenue Department, G.O. Ms. No. 98 (23 August 2025) (Telangana Gazette).

[3] Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act 1987 (Act No 30 of 1987).