Explainer : Rights Of A 'Shebait' In Property Dedicated To Deity

Who is a Shebait?A Shebait is one who serves and sustains the deity in the capacity of a manager of the debuttar property ( property vested with the deity).The property of the temple is regarded as vesting with the deity. However, it is in an ideal sense that the dedicated property vests in an idol, and in the nature of things, the possession and management of it must be entrusted to some person as Shebait or manager. The Shebait is considered to be a human ministrant of the deity. He is the person entitled to speak on behalf of the deity on earth and is endowed with authority to deal with all its temporal affairs. The personal interest of the Shebait cannot be detached from the duties, such a transfer of Shebaitship would mean delegation of the duties of the transferor, which would not only be contrary to the express intentions of the founder, but would also contravene the very policy of law. Right of uraima or Shebaitship is considered by Hindu law as inalienable as the personal interest of Urallens / Shebaits cannot be detached from their duties. (B. K. Mukherjea on 'The Hindu Law of Religious and Charitable Trusts )Relationship between Shebait and DeityNow that the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid case is in vogue again, the attention is also drawn to the relationship between Shebait and Deity. But the foremost question is -how is the holder of the position of the shebait ascertained? Observed by Lord Hobhouse in Gossamee Sree Greedharreejee v. Rumanlolljee Gossamee [16 IA 137] ,"the shebaitship is held to be vested in the heirs of the founder, in default of evidence that he has disposed of it otherwise, or there has been some usage, course of dealing, or some circumstances to show a different mode of devolution". Hence, unless there the founder or the customs and usages dispose otherwise, shebaitship like any other species of heritable property follows the line of inheritance from the founder. Enunciated way back in 1954 (Sital Das v. Sant Ram ) and also reiterated in a 2018 judgment of Kutchi Lal Rameshwar Ashram Trust Evam Anna Kshetra Trust v. Collector, Haridwar, it was again held that these customs and usages that the Court must also keep in mind while appointing a shebait. Besides the minor-guardian relationship between the deity and the shebait, there are other aspects in this relationship which are herein discussed. Right and interests of Shebait in the debuttar's property Way back in 1922 in Vidya Varuti v. Balusami, the Privy Council clarified that the relation of a shebait in regard to debutter property is not that of a trustee to trust property under the English law; rather under Hindu endowment, the entire ownership of the dedicated property is transferred to the diety or the institution itself as a juristic person and the shebait or mahant is a mere manager. But then the point to be noted is that the shebait has a share in the usufruct of the debutter property which depends upon the terms of the grant or upon custom or usage. Even where no emoluments are attached to the office of the shebait, he enjoys some sort of right or interest in the endowed property which partially at least has the character of a proprietary right. Thus, in the conception of shebaiti both the elements of office and property, of duties and personal interest, are mixed up and blended together; and one of the elements cannot be detached from the other. It is the presence of this personal or beneficial interest in the endowed property which invests shebaitship with the character of proprietary rights and attaches to it the legal incidents of property. This was elaborately discussed by a Full Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Manohar Mukherji v. Bhupendra Nath Mukherji. But what is the beneficial interest of the shebait? In Commissioner Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Suwamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt , Mukherjea, J., speaking for the unanimous Court, observed "The personal or beneficial interest of the Mahant in the endowments attached to an institution is manifested in his large powers of disposal and administration and his right to create derivative tenures in respect to endowed properties; and these and other rights of a similar character invest the office of the Mahant with the character of proprietary right which, though anomalous to some extent, is still a genuine legal right". Dedication by Shebait Although it is established that the ownership vests in the deity, but a little perplexity arises regarding the divestment of shebait's ownership which he held in his individual capacity prior to dedicating to deity. Maharani Hemanta Kumari v. Gauri Shankar Tewari, in 1940 expands on this proposition. A property can be dedicated for religious and public utility and not to any particular deity. But it cannot from this consideration be at once concluded that in any particular case there has been a dedication in the full...

Explainer : Rights Of A 'Shebait' In Property Dedicated To Deity

Kratika Indurkhya

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