History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t8.3

v5.c74.t8.3

¹⁶²⁷ In *Gangaram Babaji Badve v. Baji Shankar and others*, Printed Judgments of the Bombay High Court for 1891 p 182 at p. 186 the High Court declared that the Badwes are not owners of the temple, idol and property and that they are the chief priests, managers, overseers and guardians of the idol, the temple and the property belonging thereto and that they are bound to keep order and to bid the Sevādhārīs perform the duties which belong hereditarily to those priests. In *Sakharam Bhimaji Benare and others versus Gangaram Babaji Badve and others*, Printed Judgments of the Bombay High Court for 1896 p. 644, the position set out above was accepted by both sides and a scheme of management was framed by the High Court (pp. 649-651) which provided for the creation of a Vithobā Fund, for the appointment of a committee of management consisting of five Badves to be elected every year, for the keeping of accounts by the Badves, and for the auditing of these accounts by a Devasthan committee and declared that any cash offering exceeding Rs. 500 was not to be appropriated by the Badves for their own use, but was to be expended for ornaments for the image and to be added to the Vithobā fund, if not so required.