The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday, December 12, 2025, declared Maharashtra government's appointment of the Ahilyanagar Collector as administrator of the Shree Shanaishwar Devasthan Trust at Shingnapur illegal. Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten S. Venegavkar said, "We have concluded that the appointment of Collector as Administrator by the State Government is illegal." They ruled the acts by the Administrator and the committee formed without legal authority illegal, insisting the status quo be restored. The court quashed the Government Resolution dated September 22, 2025, which enforced the Trust Act and appointed the Collector as Administrator. It also set aside the Collector’s communication dated September 30, forming a committee. The court directed the Collector and his committee to hand over all movable and immovable Trust properties to the elected trustees within seven days. The Trust can continue operating its bank account until new rules are framed and a Management Committee is set up under the Act. Petitioners Bhagwat Sopan Bankar and ten other trustees, backed by senior advocate S.B. Talekar, said they were elected for a five-year term ending December 31, 2025, and accused the government of acting "with mala fide intention" to seize control of the temple's major revenue source. Mr. Talekar argued, "There is absolutely no provision in the Act to appoint Collector as Administrator immediately coming into force of the Act." He added that the Administrator can only be appointed if the Committee under Section 5 fails to perform duties. Representing Maharashtra, Additional Government Pleader A.R. Kale defended the move, citing Sections 36, 44, and 48 of the Act, claiming the appointment ensured proper management amid alleged employee mismanagement in the Trust. The court rejected these reasons, stating no provision allows a stopgap Administrator appointment and that the government acted "in haste" with an order "inconsistent with the Act." The bench stressed, "Arbitrariness is the very antithesis of equality," and emphasized property rights can only be altered "by authority of law." The judgement held the Government Resolution lacked constitutional legitimacy to displace elected trustees and seize Trust assets. The court urged speedy rule-making by the government to fully activate the Trust Act's mandate. The order stated, "The Government Resolution dated 22.09.2025 appointing the Collector, Ahilyanagar as Administrator, stands quashed and set aside." It also refused the State's plea to maintain status quo for eight weeks, rejecting any continuation of the illegal appointment.