Mehsana: The long-running dispute over the administration and control of Hatkeshwar Mahadev Mandir in Vadnagar has taken a major turn, with the Mehsana In-charge Charity Commissioner declaring the current temple trustees illegal. The Charity Commissioner ordered their immediate removal and appointed the Deputy Charity Commissioner as an administrator to take charge of the institution.

Following the order, officials from the Charity Commissioner’s office, accompanied by a police convoy, arrived at the temple around 2 am to take possession of the trust administration, triggering a major commotion. However, the existing trustees allegedly locked the office and other rooms before leaving the premises. Despite this, officials from the Charity Commissioner’s office formally took over the administration of the temple.

The dispute over the temple’s administration had been pending before the Charity Commissioner’s court for several years. Providing details of the case, temple chief priest and original objector Jayantbhai K. Pandya alleged that individuals who became trustees through unconstitutional means had been mismanaging the temple for years, leading to a prolonged legal battle.

A petition regarding alleged maladministration was also filed before the Charity Commissioner by citizens Subhashbhai Bhatt, Neelkanthbhai Dholakia, Jayeshbhai Mehta, and Chetnaben Buch. Accepting the plea, the Joint Charity Commissioner passed what the petitioners described as a historic order by removing the existing trustees and appointing an administrator. The court reportedly observed that the current trustees had not assumed office in accordance with the trust constitution.

Following the order, the temple administration was taken over during the early hours of the morning.

Advocate Jay Pandya, who represented the petitioners, said that illegal administration had allegedly been continuing in the Hatkeshwar Mahadev Trust Institution (Registration No. A/533-Mehsana) since 1993 and that the latest order has legally brought that arrangement to an end.

Patan Deputy Charity Commissioner and Mehsana In-Charge Deputy Charity Commissioner V. N. Vasava, speaking officially on the matter, stated that no legal trustee had existed on the trust’s official records since 1993 and that a prolonged dispute had persisted between rival groups.

Vasava further stated that attempts were made to contact the existing trustees by phone on the night the order was passed, but no one responded. As a result, officials visited their residences and served copies of the order by affixing notices at their homes.

All trustees have now been directed to remain present at the trust office on June 15 for further legal proceedings. Until a new board of trustees is constituted through the prescribed election process within the next six months, the trust administration will remain under the supervision of the Charity Commissioner’s office with police protection. DeshGujarat