Baba Budan Archives · Court Records · BD-COURT-1980-01

1980 — The District Court Judgment

The judgment and decree dated 29 February 1980 in O.S. No. 25 of 1978 became a central judicial milestone in the dispute concerning Sri Guru Dattatreya Swamy Peetha / Baba Budan Dargah.

Record: O.S. No. 25/1978 (earlier O.S. No. 75/1976)
Court: District Court, Chikmagalur
Decision date: 29 February 1980
Archive status: Judgment and decree described in later judicial records; certified original trial-court copy not held in this archive.

Background to the suit

The dispute followed the inclusion of the institution in the Wakf list and subsequent controversy over its management. The representative civil proceedings were instituted in 1976 and later transferred and renumbered as O.S. No. 25/1978 before the District Judge, Chikmagalur.

The litigation concerned the character of the institution, the legal effect of its inclusion in the Wakf list, and questions of management and interference. The allegations advanced by the parties must be distinguished from the court’s eventual decree.

What the decree determined

As recounted in subsequent Karnataka High Court decisions, the District Court treated the institution as a religious and holy place of worship associated with both Hindu and Muslim devotees. The decree held that the institution was not Wakf property and found its inclusion in the Wakf list improper. It also addressed interference by the Wakf Board and restoration of management to the position prevailing before June 1975.

Important legal distinction. These are the findings and relief described in later judicial records of this particular suit. They should not be presented as an independent survey, a parcel-by-parcel title adjudication of all historic Inam lands, or a substitute for the original 1980 decree and its exact operative wording.

The litigation sequence

1976Representative civil suit instituted as O.S. No. 75/1976.1978Transferred and renumbered O.S. No. 25/1978.29 Feb 1980District Court judgment and decree.7 Jan 1991Karnataka High Court dismissed the Wakf Board’s appeal in R.F.A. No. 119/1980.1 Nov 1991Later judicial records report dismissal of the ensuing Supreme Court special leave petition; original Supreme Court order remains a desirable primary source.

Judicial interpretation and evidentiary limits

The 1991 appellate judgment is especially important when interpreting the 1980 result. A compound issue concerning inclusion in the Wakf list and Wakf character cannot safely be interpreted from a single isolated “Yes” or “No” in a reproduced issue table. The judgment, decree, and appellate disposition must be read together.

Likewise, the 1980 decision does not by itself prove that every historic Inam parcel remained in a particular person’s physical possession or ownership. Inam tenure, statutory vesting, occupancy rights, religious management and physical possession require their own supporting records.

Existing Baba Budan Archives homepage illustration associated with the 1980 judicial chronology — Illustration previously used on the archive homepage for the 1980 chapter. This is not represented as a facsimile of the original judgment.

Sources and records to recover

Primary record sought: Certified judgment and decree in O.S. No. 25/1978, District Court, Chikmagalur, dated 29 February 1980, including the framed issues and operative order.
Subsequent judicial source: Karnataka High Court, R.F.A. No. 119/1980, decided 7 January 1991, which examined the trial decree.
Later judicial accounts: Karnataka High Court proceedings of 2021 and 2023 discussing the earlier litigation and subsequent administrative history.

Editorial note: This page is a historical case summary based on later judicial accounts and the archive’s research register. The original certified 1980 trial-court judgment has not been reproduced here. Any future certified copy should be checked against this summary and added as a separately identified primary-source exhibit. Archive ID: BD-COURT-1980-01.