HC stays temple land Lease for cricket stadium in Kakinada

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday stayed the allotment of 17.55 acres of land belonging to Sri Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple at Sarpavaram, Kakinada, which was proposed to be leased for the construction of a cricket stadium.

The State Government had issued a GO allotting the temple land on a 33-year lease. The order was issued pursuant to another GO, which amended Rule 4(2)(J) of the Endowments Land Lease Rules, 2003, enabling the State to grant leases of temple properties for a period of 33 years.

The GO was earlier challenged before the High Court in a writ petition by G. Syama Prasad Mukherjee and others affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). On January 22, 2026, when the Court expressed its inclination to grant an interim stay on the GO, the Advocate General gave an undertaking that the State would not give effect to the amended rule. The Court recorded the undertaking and granted one week’s time for filing a counter affidavit.

However, despite the undertaking, the Government subsequently issued the second GO granting lease of the temple land for construction of a cricket stadium. This prompted the filing of another writ petition challenging the fresh GO.

Appearing for the petitioners, Counsel JV Phaniduth argued that leasing temple properties for non-religious purposes defeats the objectives of the Endowments Act. He contended that devotees donate lands out of religious devotion and that long-term leases for non-religious activities would violate statutory provisions, compromise future needs of the temple, and discourages future donations. He further argued that issuing GO 55 despite the Advocate General’s undertaking amounted to misleading the Court.

The Government Pleader for Endowments submitted that several temple lands are under encroachment and that long-term leases were being considered to generate revenue for the temples, as the State was facing difficulties in removing encroachments.

In response, the petitioners’ counsel argued that the Endowments Act was enacted to safeguard temple properties and that administrative failure to protect such properties cannot justify diluting statutory protections. After hearing both sides, the High Court observed that it had earlier been inclined to stay further proceedings under GO 15 but refrained from doing so based on the Advocate General’s undertaking. Noting that the State proceeded with long-term leases despite the undertaking, the Court stayed the operation of the earlier GO until further orders. It also stayed the subsequent Go leasing the Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple land for construction of a cricket stadium.

The interim orders were passed during a lunch motion hearing on Thursday.