Kathmandu, April 5: The Patan High Court has backed the Kathmandu District Court and confirmed that the Pashupati Gaushala Dharamshala belongs entirely to the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), shutting down the Marwari Sewa Samiti’s long-running claim over the property.
A joint bench of Judges Khadga Bahadur KC and Ramesh Prasad Gyawali ruled that the Samiti holds no tenancy rights over the land or buildings it has occupied for more than two decades. The verdict leaves little room to maneuver. After losing in both courts, the Samiti cannot file a regular appeal and can only seek a limited judicial review.
The dispute traces back to August 2023, when the Samiti went to court claiming tenancy over two land parcels in the Pashupati area. The District Court rejected the claim in October 2024, pointing out a basic problem: there was no historical entity called “Pashupati Gaushala Dharamshala.” Even the Samiti had acknowledged this in a 2003 agreement with the Pashupati Amalkot Kachahari.
That agreement turned out to be the Samiti’s weakest link. The court found that the land is registered as Guthi property under the Pashupati authority, and the Samiti failed to produce convincing evidence to prove tenancy. A copy of a registration certificate was not enough. Worse, the Samiti’s own documents effectively recognized the Trust’s ownership.
The High Court agreed. It also stressed that the Samiti is bound by the terms it had already accepted and cannot ignore earlier Supreme Court rulings in related matters.
The courts did not spare the 2003 agreement either. Judges noted that the contract lacked clarity, including a defined time frame, and had been repeatedly questioned for fairness and transparency. Anti-corruption authorities had earlier directed revisions, and both Special Court and Supreme Court decisions had allowed amendments, including an annual payment clause of Rs. 51,000. None of those changes were implemented. That failure ultimately justified the Trust’s decision in August 2023 to terminate the agreement.
For years, the Samiti paid Rs. 51,000 annually while running what looked less like a charitable shelter and more like a commercial hub, with hotels, restaurants, and other services operating on the premises. That mismatch did not go unnoticed.
Former PADT Member Secretary Dr. Milan Kumar Thapa framed the ruling in religious terms, calling it justice for Lord Pashupatinath. He argued the property should now serve its original purpose, managed in coordination with government bodies and used for pilgrims and social work.
The Trust and Kathmandu Metropolitan City had already moved toward a joint management plan in October 2024. With the legal fog now cleared, authorities finally have a chance to take control of the site and use it for what it was meant to be. Whether that actually happens without another round of “creative interpretation” is a different story.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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