DHARAMSALA BHAI VIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Dharamsala Bhai Vir Singh has filed this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, through its Mahant, Shri Bhagwan Dass, calling in question, on a number of grounds, the legality and propriety of proceedings taken by the State of Punjab through its officers in the Revenue Department, Respondent Nos. 1 to 4, under the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955 (hereinafter briefly described as 'the Act') and declaring 683-3/4 acres of its land as surplus area available for utilization by settlement of tenants or otherwise. Some of the old tenants on this land who had applied to the revenue authorities for the acquisition of proprietary rights in the areas under their occupation have been impleaded in this writ petition as respondent Nos. 5 to 7, on their own application.

(2.) The religious or charitable character, whether public or private, of the petitioner Dharamsala are a moot point in proceedings under two different Acts. In order to claim exemption from the application of the Act, the petitioner has to show that the Dharamsala is a religious or charitable institution of a public nature within the meaning of Section 51(1)(c) of the Act which provides for exemptions to certain types of land while in the proceedings under the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 (hereinafter briefly referred to as the 'Gurdwaras Act') he has to establish that the institution is not a Sikh Gurdwara as has been claimed by about 66 worshippers of the village in an application made by them under Section 7 of the Gurdwaras Act. A notification has been issued by the Punjab Government under sub-section (3) of the said section and the Mahant of the petitioner Dharamsala has filed a claim under Sections 8 and 10 of the Gurdwaras Act disputing the counter claim of the worshippers that the Dharamsala is a Sikh Gurdwara. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had made an application for being impleaded as a party in this case but it was not desirable that the Mahant of the petitioner Dharamsala may be called upon to fight a two sided battle. The question whether the institution is a Sikh Gurdwara or not has been left to be determined by the special Tribunal having exclusive jurisdiction that is constituted under the provisions of the Gurdwara Act.

(3.) The Mahant of the petitioner institution impugns the orders of respondent Nos. 1 to 4 declaring 683-3/4 acres of its land as surplus and in this connection his counsel, Shri Sarhadi, has raised the following six contentions :-