In Brief
The appellant, claiming to be the rightful successor to a deceased spiritual leader (Mahant Dharmanand) of a religious ashram, challenged the Collector's decision to vest the disputed property in the state under the doctrine of escheat (property without legal heirs passing to government). The Supreme Court upheld the Collector's findings that the appellant failed to prove both that Dharmanand was a renounced ascetic (sanyasi) and that he himself was the lawful successor under sectarian customs. While dismissing the appeal, the Court permitted the appellant to pursue his succession claims in a competent civil court, where the administrative findings would not be conclusive.
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