{"id":115423,"date":"1998-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1998-04-29T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/s-g-p-committee-vs-m-p-dass-chela-dead-by-lrs-on-30-april-1998"},"modified":"2019-03-28T01:58:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T20:28:39","slug":"s-g-p-committee-vs-m-p-dass-chela-dead-by-lrs-on-30-april-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/s-g-p-committee-vs-m-p-dass-chela-dead-by-lrs-on-30-april-1998","title":{"rendered":"S.G.P. Committee vs M.P. Dass Chela (Dead) By Lrs on 30 April, 1998"},"content":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n
S.G.P. Committee vs M.P. Dass Chela (Dead) By Lrs on 30 April, 1998<\/div>\n
Author: Srinivasan<\/div>\n
Bench: G.N. Ray, M. Srinivasan<\/div>\n
           PETITIONER:\nS.G.P. COMMITTEE\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nM.P. DASS CHELA (DEAD) BY LRS.\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT:\t30\/04\/1998\n\nBENCH:\nG.N. RAY, M. SRINIVASAN\n\n\n\n\nACT:\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n
\t\t      J U D G M E N T
\nSRINIVASAN, J.\n<\/p>\n
Leave granted.\n<\/p>\n
2.   This proceeding  has its origin in an application by 60
\npersons claiming  to be\t worshippers of\t Gurudwara Dera Lang
\nShri Guru  Granth Sahib situate within the revenue estate of
\nvillage\t Sardararh,  Tehsil  and  District  Bahatinda  under
\nSection 7(1)  of the Sikh Gurudwara Act 1925 (hereinafter to
\nbe referred  to as  the `Act’). Under the provisions of sub-
\nsection (8)  of Section 7 of the Act, the Governor of Punjab
\nissued a  Notification No.  1301- GP  dated 7th\t August 1984
\npublished in  the Government  gazette alongwith\t a  list  or
\nrights, titles and interests in properties said to belong to
\nthe said  Gurudwara. One  Mahant Puran\tDass filed  petition
\nunder Section  8 of  the Act with the State Government which
\nwas forwarded  under Section  14 (1)  of the Act to the Sikh
\nGurudwaras Tribunal, Punjab at Chandigarh. Mahant Puran Dass
\nclaimed that the institution was not a Sikh Gurudwara but it
\nwas a  Dera of\tUdasi Sadhus.  The  Tribunal  impleaded\t the
\nappellant herein  as party  respondent in the said petition.
\nEvidence as  adduced by both the parties. The  Tribunal have
\nthat Mahant  Puran Dass\t was not  a hereditary office holder
\nand had no locus standi to maintain a petition under Section\n<\/p>\n
8. The Tribunal also held that he institution in question is
\na Sikh\tGurudwara within the ambit of Section 16 (2)(iii) of
\nthe Act.\n<\/p>\n
3.   Aggrieved thereby,\t Mahant Puran  Dass filed  an appeal
\nunder Section  34 of the Act before the High Court or Punjab
\n& Haryana.  As per  the requirement  of the said Section the
\nappeal was  heard by  two learned Judge of the Court. One of
\nthem, namely  Justice K.S.  Tiwana agreed  with the Tribunal
\nand held  against the  appellant. The  other learned  Judge,
\nnamely, Justice Yadav took a contrary view and held that the
\nappellant in  the High\tCourt was a hereditary office holder
\nand  that  the\tInstitution  in\t question  was\tnot  a\tsikh
\ngurudwara. In  view of\tthe difference\tof opinion, the case
\nwas referred  to a third Judge. Justice J.V. Gupta concurred
\nwith the  opinion expressed  by Justice\t Yadav and held that
\nthe appeal  should be  allowed. Consequently  the appeal was
\nallowed and  the order\tof the\tTribunal was  set aside.  It
\nshould be  mentioned here  that during\tthe pendency  of the
\nsaid appeal,  Mahant Puran Dass died and in his place Mahant
\nBhagwant Dass  who was\this chela  came on  record as  legal
\nrepresentative.\n<\/p>\n
4.   The appellant has preferred this appeal challenging the
\ncorrectness of the judgment of Justice Gupta concurring with
\nthat  of   Justice  Yadav.   During  the  pendency  of\tthis
\nproceeding the\trespondent Mahant  Bhagwant Dass died and in
\nhis place Mahant Pritam Dass has been substituted.\n<\/p>\n
5.   Learned counsel  for the  appellant has  advanced three
\nmain contentions:\n<\/p>\n
(a)  The matter\t should not  have been\treferred to  a third
\nJudge in  the High  Court and such reference is violative of
\nSection 98  (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure. According to
\nhim there  was no point of law which arose for consideration
\nand in any event no point of law was framed or stated by the
\nlearned Judges\twho expressed different opinions. In as much
\nas  the\t matter\t was  referred\tto  a  third  Judge  without
\nfollowing  the\tprocedure  in  Section\t98  (2)\t C.P.C.\t the
\nreference to  the third\t Judge was  a nullity and the appeal
\nbefore the  High Court ought to have been dismissed as there
\nwas no\tmajority taking\t a view\t different from\t that of the
\nTribunal\n<\/p>\n
(b)  Secondly, it  is argued  that Mahant  Puran Dass  was a
\nhereditary office holder and had no locus standi to maintain
\nthe petition under Section 8 of the Act.\n<\/p>\n
(c)  The third\tcontention is that the Institution is a Sikh
\nGurudwara and  there is\t overwhelming evidence\ton record to
\nprove the same.\n<\/p>\n
6.   At\t the  outset,  learned\tcounsel\t for  the  appellant
\nsubmitted that\teven without  considering any  of the  above
\nthree contentions,  the judgment of the third Judge, namely,
\nJustice Gupta  deserves to be set aside in limine as he h as
\nnot considered\tthe materials on record independently and he
\nhas only  expressed his\t concurrence with  the\tjudgment  of
\nJustice Yadav  without giving  any reason therefor. No doubt
\nthe judgement of judgment of Justice Gupta is not a detailed
\none and\t it does  not refer  to the evidence alaborately but
\nthe learned Judge has referred to the crux of the matter and
\nexpressed his  opinion concurring  with Justice Yadav. While
\ndealing with  the first\t  question  with regard to the locus
\nstandi of  Mahant Pruan\t Dass the learned Judge has referred
\nto the\tprinciple laid\tdown by a Full Bench of the Punjab &
\nHaryana High Court in Mahant Dharam Dass Chela Karam Prakash
\nVersus Shiromani  Gurdwaran Prabandhak\tCommittee  AIR\t1987
\nPunjab &  Haryana   64 and  pointed out\t that succession  to
\nMahantship was\tfrom guru  to chela and therefore Puran Dass
\nwas a  hereditary office  holder. Similarly  on\t the  second
\nquestion, the learned Judge has made particular reference to
\nEx. R-14  which is the crucial document being the title deed
\nof the\tInstitution and\t on the basis of the entries therein
\nheld the   Institution\tis not a Sikh Gurudwaras. Hence, the
\ncriticism made\tby the\tlearned counsel for the appellant is
\nnot acceptable.\n<\/p>\n
7.   As regards the applicability of Section 98 (2) C.P.C. ,
\nit is  rightly\tpointed\t out  by  learned  counsel  for\t the
\nrespondent that\t the contention\t was not raised at any stage
\nbefore the  arguments in this appeal. It has not been raised
\neven in\t the Special  Leave Petition. There is also no merit
\nwhatever in  the said  contention. The provisions of Section
\n98 (3) have obviously been overlooked by learned counsel for
\nthe appellant.\tAs per\tthat sub-section, nothing in Section
\n98  shall  be  deemed  to  after  or  otherwise\t affect\t any
\nprovision of the Letter Patent of any High Court. Admittedly
\nthe High Court or Punjab has Letters Patent. Clause 26 of he
\nLetters Paten  provides that  in the  event of difference of
\nopinion between\t two Judge as to the decision to be given on
\nany point  it shall  be head  upon that point by one or more
\nof the\tother Judges  and the  case must  be decided  on the
\nbasis of  the majority opinion. Our attention has been drawn
\nto the\tjudgment of  the High  Court of\t Punjab & Haryana in
\nMahant\tSwarn  Dass  Versus  Shiromani\tGurdwara  Prabandhak
\nCommittee AIR  1981 Punjab  & Haryana  110 and the following
\nrulings of  various High  Courts taking\t the view  that\t the
\nprovisions of  Section 98, C.P.C. are not applicable to High
\nCourts which are governed by Letters Patent and a matter can
\nbe referred  to a  third Judge\ton a  difference of  opinion
\nbetween two Judges even on a point of fact:\n<\/p>\n
     (i)  (Immidisetti) Dhanaraja and another versus Motilal
\nDaga and another AIR 1929 Madras 641:\n<\/p>\n
     (ii) M.D. Puri & Sons Versus Lyons Cinema Ltd. AIR 1933
\nLahore 648:\n<\/p>\n
     (iii) Pritam Dass Versus Mst. Akbari and other AIR 1973
\nMadhya Pradesh 224:\n<\/p>\n
     (iv)   Sushila Kesarbahi  and others  Versus Bai Lilava
\nand others AIR 1975 Gujarat 39:\n<\/p>\n
     (v) Rulia\tDevi and  others versus Raghunath Prasad AIR
\n1979 Patna 115 : and\n<\/p>\n
     (vi) Smt. Jayanti Devi Versus Sri Chand Mal Agrawal and
\nothers AIR  1984 Patna\t296. We\t agree with those ruling and
\nhold that  the reference  to Justice Gupta in this case on a
\ndifference of  opinion between\tJustice Tiwana\tand  Justice
\nYadav is not in any way vitiated an does not suffer from any
\ninfirmity.  There  is  no  merit  whatsoever  in  the  first
\ncontention of the learned counsel for the appellant which is
\nhereby rejected.\n<\/p>\n
8.   The second\t question to be considered is whether Mahant
\nPuran Dass was a hereditary office holder. Section 2 (4)(iv)
\nof the\tAct defines  hereditary office to mean an office the
\nsuccession to  which before the first day of January 1920 or
\nin the\tcase of extended territories before the first day of
\nNovember 1956,\tas the\tcase may  be devolved  according  to
\nhereditary rights  or by nomination by the office-holder for
\nthe time being and hereditary office holder means the holder
\nof the\thereditary office. There is ample evidence on record
\nin this\t case to  the effect  that office of Mahant devolves
\nfor guru  to chela.  It a Mahant has several chelas and does
\nnot nominate  one of  them to  be the next office-holder the
\nBhek congregates  and nominates one of t he chelas to be the
\nnext Mahant.  This Custom  or usage  as it may be called has
\nbeen in vogue with reference to this Institution for quite a
\nlong time.  Ex. R-14  itself contains the following Pedigree
\ntable :\n<\/p>\n
By Caste : Sadh Udasi :\n<\/p>\n
——–\n<\/p>\n
Khem Dass
\nAmar Dass
\nJodha Ram
\nHarsewak Ram
\nGain Dass
\nJawahar Dass
\nAfter Jawahar  Dass his\t chela Puran Dass succeeded. When he
\npassed away,  his chela\t Bhagwant Dass\twas nominated and on
\nhis death  his chela Pritam Dass became the Mahant. Thus the
\noffice of  Mahant  was\tdevolving  from\t guru  to  chela  in
\naccordance with an established usage and custom.\n<\/p>\n
9.  The\t necessary  averments  have  been  clearly  made  in
\nParagraphs 3 and 4 of the petition filed by Puran Dass under
\nSection 8  of the Act. In support of the said pleading, nine
\nwitnesses have\tbeen examined  including  Puran\t Dass.\tThat
\nevidence has  been accepted  by Justice\t Yadav\tand  Justice
\nGupta. We  do not  find any error in their doing so. Nothing
\nhas  been   elicited  in  the  cross-examination  so  as  to
\ndiscredit their\t evidence. The\tonly  argument\tadvanced  on
\nbehalf of  the appellant  is that the requirement of Section
\n2(4)(iv) are not satisfied in the present case. According to
\nlearned counsel\t under the  said Section  there should\tbe a
\ndevolution by  hereditary succession  or nomination  by\t the
\noffice holder  for the\ttime  being.  According\t to  learned
\ncounsel, the  nomination of  a chela  by the  bhek after the
\ndeath of office holder will not fall within the scope of the
\nsuccession; not can it be said to be hereditary succession.\n<\/p>\n
10.  We are  unable to\taccept the  said contention.  It has
\nbeen held  in several cases that if succession to the office
\nof Mahant  is in  accordance with  a particular\t scheme or a
\ndefinite usage\tor custom,  it will  be case  of  hereditary
\nsuccession.\n<\/p>\n
11.  In Amar  Dass Cchela  Jai Ram  Dass of Nabha Versus The
\nShiromanigurdwara Prabandhak  Committee AIR  1978  Punjab  &
\nHaryana 273,  a Division  Bench of  the High  Court to which
\nJustice Tiwana was a party observed that appointment by Bhek
\ncould be one of the methods of hereditary succession.\n<\/p>\n
     In\t Mahant\t Dharam\t Dass  Chela  Karam  Prakash  Versus
\nShiromani Gurdwara  Prabandhak Committee:  AIR 1987 Punjab &
\nHaryana 64  (F.B.) a Full Bench of the Punjab & Haryana High
\nCourt held  that the  ahantship had  devolved from  guru  to
\nchela in  that case and it was hereditary succession and the
\noffice holder was hereditary office holder.\n<\/p>\n
12.  The matter\t could be viewed in a different manner also.
\nWhen the  Mahant dies  the  right  to  the  office  devolves
\nadmittedly on  his chelas. It is not in dispute in this case
\nthat it\t is only  a chela  of the  previous mahant  who\t can
\nsucceed him as a mahant. The right of succession devolves on
\nall the chelas and one among them who is nominated to be the
\nnext mahant  by the  Bekh is  none the less a person on whom
\nthe right  to succession  has devolved.\t Thus he  is also  a
\nhereditary office  holder. It  is in  evidence that normally
\nthe seniormost chela will be nominated unless he is found to
\nbe unfit.\n<\/p>\n
13.  Learned  counsel\tfor  the  appellant  has  drawn\t our
\nattention to the judgment of the Full Bench or Five Judge of
\nthe Punjab  & Haryana High Court in Mahant Tehal Dass Versus
\nShiromani Gurdwara  Prabandhak\tCommittee  I.L.R.  1979\t (2)
\nPunjab &  Haryana 131. It has been held in that case that in
\na petition  under Section  8, the  Tribunal has to decide in
\nthe first  instance the\t locus standi  of the petitioner and
\nhold whether  the petition is maintainable or not. The\tsaid
\ndecision does  not help the appellant in his contention that
\nPuran Dass  was not  a hereditary office holder. In the fact
\nand circumstances  of the case we hold that Puran Dass was a
\nhereditary office holder and the view taken by Justice Yadav
\nand Justice Gupta is correct.\n<\/p>\n
14.  The next  question to  be\tconsidered  is\twhether\t the
\nInstitution is\ta Sikh Gurudwara. The Tribunal has held that
\nthe Institution\t satisfies the requirements of S.16 (2)(III)
\nof the\tAct. Under  that sub-section  two conditions must be
\nsatisfied :(1)\tThe Institution\t was established  for use by
\nSikhs for purpose of public worship; (2) The Institution was
\nused for such public worship by Sikhs both before and at the
\ntime of the presentation of the petition under Section 7 (1)
\nof the\tAct.  Unless  both  conditions\tare  fulfilled,\t the
\nTribunal cannot declare it to be Sikh Gurudwara.\n<\/p>\n
15.  In Lachhman Das and others versus Atma Singh and others
\nAIR 1935  Lahore 666 it was held that both matters should be
\nproved separately  and when user of the Institution only has
\nbeen established,  it is  not a\t necessary inference that it
\nwas established\t for the  purpose of  public worship  by the
\nSikhs.\n<\/p>\n
16.  It is quite evident from the language of Section 16 (2)
\nthat the  burden of  proving an\t institution to\t be  a\tSikh
\nGurudwara  is\ton  the\t  person  who\tasserts\t the   same.
\nSignificantly in  this case,  none of  the sixty persons who
\npresented t  he petition  under Section\t 7 (1) has chosen to
\nenter\t the  witness  box  and\t give  evidence\t in  support
\ntherefore. There  is no\t explanation for  the same. The oral
\nevidence adduced on behalf of the appellant has not inspired
\neven the Tribunal. All that is relied on by the appellant is
\nthe entry  in Jamabandi\t Register and mutation register. The
\nentries in  those registers are to the effect that Dera Guru
\nGranth Sahib  is the  owner. Those  entries can hardly prove
\neither the  purpose of\testablishment of  the institution or
\nthe use thereof before and at the time of the petition under
\nSection 7(1)  of the Act. Tiwana, J. has himself pointed out
\nthat the  appellant herein who was the respondent before him
\nwas not in a position to furnish any direct evidence that it
\nis a Sikh Gurudwara.\n<\/p>\n
17.  On the  other hand, the entires in Ex. R-14, containing
\nthe proceedings\t of the Settlement commissioner held in 1903
\nprove beyond  doubt that  the  institution  is\tnot  a\tSikh
\nGurudwara. Column  2 thereof  shows that  the original donor
\nwas Sardar  Jodh Singh\tSaboke and  the donee  was Khem Dass
\nFaqir Udasi.  Column 9\trefers to  Guru Granth\tSahib  (Dera
\nLang, under  the management of Jawahar Dass, Chela Gain Dass
\nUdasi of  the village.\tColumn 20 contains the report of the
\nSuperintendent. That  shows that  the muafi  was granted  by
\nSardar Jodh  Singh of  Sobo for\t expenses of the building of
\nSawara Guru  Granth Sahib.  The\t opinion  of  the  Assistant
\nSettlement Officer is set out in Column 21. The order of the
\nSettlement Commissioner\t dated 1.5.1903\t in Column  22 reads
\nthus :\t“Muafi as detailed continued to the Lang Dera in the
\nname of\t the custodian for the time being”. Thus it is clear
\nthat the institution was not established for use by sikhs.\n<\/p>\n
18.  Learned counsel for the appellant submits that Ex. R-13
\nis earlier  in point  of time  to Ex.  R-14 and\t the entries
\ntherein support\t the appellant’s case. We find that Ex. R-13
\ndoes not  contain any relevat matter. Ex. R-14 evidences the
\nproceedings of\tSettlement Commission  which is\t an  Act  of
\nState and  in the face of it, the documents relied on by the
\nappellant do  not have any value.\n<\/p>\n
19.  In a perusal of the records, we find that the following
\nfacts are proved :\n<\/p>\n
     (a) The  original grant was to an individual who belong
\nto udasi sect. (Ex. R-14).\n<\/p>\n
     (b) All  Mahants of  this institution  have been  Udasi
\nSadhus (Para 16 of the Tribunal’s order).\n<\/p>\n
     (c) Succession to Mahantship is from Guru to Chela.\n<\/p>\n
     (d)   Several Samadhis  exist on the property which are
\nobjects of worship. (PW-9 and PW-16).\n<\/p>\n
     (e) Shradhs  are performed and Ram Navami festivals are
\ncelebrated. Gola Sahib and Murti of Baba Siri Chand are
\nworshipped. (PW-10).\n<\/p>\n
     (f)  There is no Nishan-Sahib.\n<\/p>\n
     (g)  No proof of public worship by sikhs.\n<\/p>\n
20.  The appellant  relies on  the evidence  that  the\tGuru
\nGranth Sahib  is worshipped.  That circumstance alone is not
\nhelpful to  the appellant.  It is contended by the appellant
\nthat the  oral evidence\t of the\t witnesses examined  by\t the
\nrespondent were\t disbelieved on some points by Yadav, J. and
\nthey ought  to have been disbelieved completely. There is no
\nsubstance in the contention. It is open to any Court to sift
\nthe deposition\tof any\twitness and  accept a  part  thereof
\nwhile rejecting the other part.\n<\/p>\n
21.  In Shiromani  Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and others
\nversus Harcharan  Singh, air 1934 Lahore 1. a Division Bench
\nheld that where a grant was made to an Udasi sadh so that he
\nmight found  a village\tin a  desolute place and establish a
\nlangar for feeding sadhus, the land or muafi was not granted
\nto a Gurudwara.\n<\/p>\n
22.  In Bawa Ishar Dass and others versus Dr. Mohan Singh an
\nd others  AIR 1939  Lahore 239, the Court found that mahants
\nof the\tinstitution were  all along  udasis  and  ceremonies
\nobserved by  udasis and\t Hindus\t were  performed.  On  those
\nfacts, the  Court held\tthat it was not a sikh gurudwara and
\nthat the mere fact that Guru Granth Sahib was read there did
\nnot make it a Sikh Gurudwara.\n<\/p>\n
23.  In\t Pritam\t  Das  Mahant\tversus\tShiromani  Gurudwara
\nParbandhak Committee  (1984) 2\tS.C.C. 600  this Court\theld
\nthat the  central object  of worship  in a gurudwara is Shri
\nGuru Granth Sahib and sine qua non is that Guru Granth Sahib
\nshould\tbe   established  there\t  and  worshipped   by\t the
\ncongregation and  that there should be a `Nishan-Sahib’. The
\nCourt held  that the  following aspects themselves negatived
\nthe institution being a gurudwara.\n<\/p>\n
     (a)  there were samadhis on the premises;\n<\/p>\n
     (b) there\twere idols  and photos\tof Hindu  deities as
\nalso of Baba Siri Chand;\n<\/p>\n
     (c) Bhai Bhagtu was an udasi saint and;\n<\/p>\n
     (d) Succession was from guru to chela.\n<\/p>\n
24.  In Sikh  Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee Amritsar versus
\nMahant Kirpa Ram and others : (1984) 2 S.C.C. 614 this Court
\nheld that  were an Institution was established by a follower
\nof udasi  sect to  commemorate the  memory of  his guru\t and
\nsuccession of  mahantship was guru to chela, the institution
\nwas not\t a sikh institution. The Bench has elaborately dealt
\nwith the  requirements of Section 16(2) (iii) of the Act and
\npointed out  the distinction  between the  sikhs and udasis.
\nThe Bench  quoted with approval a passage in the judgment of
\nthe Privy  Council in  Hem Singh versus Basant Das, AIR 1936
\nP.C. 93 wherein the distinction between udasis and sikhs was
\nclearly recognized.  The Bench\tpointed out  that while\t the
\nudasis generate\t the sikh  scriptures they also keep the old
\nHindu practices.\n<\/p>\n
25.  On analysing  the materials  on record in this case, we
\nfind that  the institution  question is\t not Sikh Gurudwara.
\nThe order  of the Tribunal has been rightly set aside by the
\nHigh Court.  There is  no merit\t in this  appeal and  it  is
\nhereby dismissed. There will be no order as to costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court of India S.G.P. Committee vs M.P. Dass Chela (Dead) By Lrs on 30 April, 1998 Author: Srinivasan Bench: G.N. Ray, M. Srinivasan PETITIONER: S.G.P. COMMITTEE Vs. RESPONDENT: M.P. DASS CHELA (DEAD) BY LRS. DATE OF JUDGMENT: 30\/04\/1998 BENCH: G.N. RAY, M. SRINIVASAN ACT: HEADNOTE: JUDGMENT: J U D G M E N T […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"\nS.G.P. Committee vs M.P. 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