According to Hindu Law, when the worship of an idol has been founded, the Shebaitship is held to be vested in the founder and in his heirs, unless—
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1. He has disposed of it otherwise; or
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2. There has been some usage which deals with a different mode of devolution.
Apart from this, the founder has the following rights:—
(a) He can determine the line of succession of the Shebaitship, provided it does not interfere with the general law of inheritance.
(b) In case he does not make any provision, shebaitship will vest in him and his heirs.
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(c) In case the line provided by the founder fails the Shebaitship reverts to him and his heirs.
(d) If the object of the endowment is not carried out, the founder and his heirs may sue to have the property applied to its lawful purpose, or if the trust fails for the want of an object, to have the property applied cy pres, i.e., to other objects of similar character.
If a manager or Pujari of a private trust or a temple commits acts of mismanagement and mis-appropriation of the temple and its properties, he is not fit to remain in possession in that capacity. Thus, where a Pujari or manager of a Hindu temple raises residential buildings of his own in the temple premises and converts them to his own use and asserts a proprietary rights to them, it was held that he committed act of mismanagement and misappropriation of the temple and its properties and therefore, he is not fit to remain in possession as Pujari or manager of the temple.
If a suit is filed by deity against the person in management then Section 92 of the C.P.C. has no application to the suit and the sanction of the Advocate General is not a condition of its initiation. In case of a charitable endowment or public temple, the Advocate General or two or more than two persons with the permission of the Advocate General can file a suit for the following purposes:—
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1. To remove a Shebait or Mahant;
2. Appoint a new Shebait or Mahant or a trustee.
Dharmshala:
The management and control of Dharmshala generally vests in the founder and his heirs but the founder can also create some of hereditary managership or trust through a specific deed. The property dedicated to Dharmshala vests in the institution itself.