SHIROMANI GURDWARA PRABANDHAK COMMITTEE Vs. SEHAJDHARI SIKH FEDN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arises out of an order dated 20.12.2011 passed by a Full Bench of High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, whereby Civil Writ Petition No.17771 of 2003 filed by respondent No.1 - Federation has been allowed and a notification dated 08.10.2003 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs quashed leaving it open to the competent legislature to decide whether or not any amendment to Sections 45 and 92 or any other provision of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 (for short, "1925 Act") needs to be carried out. The High Court has, while saying so, left other issues open, in the following words:-

(2.) In the light of the subsequent developments and the order that we propose to make in the present appeals, we do not consider it to be necessary to elaborately set out the factual matrix in which the writ petition came to be placed before the High Court. All that we need say is that in terms of notification dated 08.10.2003 impugned in the writ petition, the Government of India had in purported exercise of its powers under sub-Section (1) read with Sec. (2) and (3) of Sec. 72 of the Punjab Re-organization Act, 1996 (for short, 1996 Act) directed that the 1925 Act shall have effect from the date of the issue of the said notification subject to the modifications set out in the said notification. The modifications set out in the notification were in the following words:-

(3.) The validity of the above notification was, as noticed earlier, challenged before the High Court who has after an elaborate consideration of the issues arrived at the following conclusions:-