HARINDER SINGH Vs. SIKH GURDWARA JUDICIAL COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has moved this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the order of the Sikh Gurdwaras Judicial Commission, Amritsar (for short 'the Commission') whereby his application under order 39, Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure filed along with a petition under Section 142 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act (for short 'the Act) for a direction to the respondents to issue him the agenda of the meeting as a Senior Vice President of Sharomani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar (for short 'the Board') was rejected.

(2.) THE facts: The petitioner filed a petition under Section 142 of the Act on the grounds that he we elected as a Senior Vice President of the Board in the year 1986 and due to the detention of the President of the Board he was elected an acting President of the Board and continued as such till March 22, 1989. He submitted his resignation from the office of the acting President and the same was accepted by the Executive Committee on March 22, 1989. He alleged that he did not resign from the office of the Senior Vice President to which office he was elected and his resignation from the office of acting President did not bar him to function as a Senior Vice President. The Executive Committee of the Board did not send him the agenda of its meeting and this led to the filing of the petition under Section 142 of the Act and an application under Order 39, Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure for an interim direction to the Executive Committee to issue him the agenda of its meeting. The Commission dismissed the application for interim injunction on the ground that there is no office of acting President of the Board and the petitioner, in fact, tendered his resignation from the office of Senior Vice President which was validly accepted by the Committee and he had no right for issuance of an agenda of the meeting of the Executive Committee.

(3.) THE petitioner has challenged this order in a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. The Act is a comprehensive Code. It provides a scheme for purely Sikh management, secured by statutory and legal sanction, for places of worship which are decided either by the Legislature or by an independent Tribunal set up for the purpose. The Management of every notified Sikh Gurdwara is administered by the Committee, constituted under the Act, the Board and the Commission in accordance with Part, III of the Act. The composition and Constitution of the Board is provided for in Section 43 of the Act. Section 62 of the Act provides for office bearers and the Executive Committee of the Board. Section 60 of the Act provides that the President of the Board shall be the chairman at the meetings of the Board and of the Executive Committee and if the President is absent the Senior Vice-President shall be Chairman. If both the President and Senior Vice-President are absent, the Junior Vice President shall be Chairman, and if neither the President nor any Vice President is present, the members present shall elect one of themselves to be Chairman for the purpose of the meeting.