Mahant Ramanand Chela vs State Of Uttaranchal

The Supreme Court upheld the Collector's order regarding the succession of property of the deceased Mahant Dharmanand, stating that the petitioner failed to prove his claim as a legal heir under the customs of the sect. The Court noted that the Collector's findings were based on the lack of evidence to establish Dharmanand's status as a sanyasi and the petitioner's own status as his heir. The Court affirmed that the property was rightly vested in the state government by escheat due to the absence of a natural heir, as per the principles of property law.