MANIKCHAND PRATAPMAL BAJ Vs. SAKARCHAND PREMCHAND GUJARATHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants/plaintiffs have filed this revision against the order passed by Additional District Judge, Washim on application under Section 4 of the Places of worship Act filed by the respondent.

(2.) The facts giving rise to this revision are as follows : there is a temple at village Shirpur in washim Taluka of Akola District, in which an idol of God Shri. Antariksha Parshwanath 23rd jain Tirthankar is installed. It is said that the said temple and the idol is in existence since time immemorial. It was noticed by the devotees of God Antariksha Parshwanath that polkars were usurping the management of the temple. As a result of this the devotees belonging to Digambari and Shwetambari sect came together in the year 1901 to oust the Polkars. In the year 1905 a meeting of the two sects held and it was decided that both the sects shall worship the idol of God Antariksha parshwanath according to the time table as settled between them. This arrangement continued until 1908. It was decided in the year 1908 by both the sects together that a new plaster (Lep) should be applied to the idol and they accordingly authorised one Kalyanchand lalchand Yewalkar a Shwetambai devotee to undertake the job. Under the directions of kalyanchand it is alleged that the artists who were to apply the plaster started making unauthorised additions and alterations to the idol and with a view to create and establish that it was an idol of Shwetambari sect. The difference between the two sects is that the digambari Jains worship a totally nude idol while the Shwetambaris worship an idol with a Kati-Sutra and Kachota. Digambaris refuse to worship an idol with Kati-Sutra and Kachota while Shwetambari refuse to worship a totally nude idol. In the year 1910 one Harakchand gulabchand and others belonging to the shwetambari sect filed Civil Suit No. 4 of 1910 praying that the idol and the temple be declared as belonging to the Shwetambaris only. The matter went up to the Privy Council and the privy Council held that the parties should continue to worship the idol according to old time table. It recognised the rights of the digambaris to worship the idol and both parties were directed to maintain harmonious relations.

(3.) This judgment of the Privy council was rendered on 09. 07. 1929. It is not in dispute that according to this judgment the digambaris and Shwetambaris continued to worship the idol and there was no dispute what so ever until 1959. It is alleged that in the year 1959 the existing plaster was removed and it was found that idol was a Digambari idol and not Shwetambari idol. It is alleged that the idol is made out of a stone and not out of sand and that would also show that the idol is totally nude and belongs to Digambari sect. The dispute, therefore, arose between the parties in the year 1959. Some proceedings under Section 145 criminal Procedure Code were also initiated. Subsequently, the Digambari devotees instituted a civil suit in the Court of Civil Judge, Senior division, at Washim in 1960 which later came to be numbered as 2 of 1992. The said suit came to be dismissed and an appeal No. 7 of 1995 came to be filed. The suit has essentially been fi led with a view to declare that the decree obtained in Civil Suit No. 4 of 1910 has been obtained by fraud.