ASHOK KUMAR Vs. DHARAMARTH TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner who claims himself to be Convenor of Hindustani Andolan has filed this petition against Dharmarth Trust and its functionaries, for issuing a direction that they should shift Shri Ragunath Sanskrit Maha Vidayalay from Birpur to Shri Ragunath Temple, Jammu and further that the respondents shall close that Institute or to handover the same to any other organisation.

(2.) MR . J.P. Singh Advocate has appeared on caveat, for the respondents and he has taken preliminary objection that the present petition is not maintainable as Dharmart Trust which is purely a private institution is not amenable to writ jurisdiction.

(3.) I have heard the learned counsel for the parties on this preliminary point of jurisdiction. Petitioner who is also an Advocate has argued that the case by submitting that Dharmarth Trust was created by His Highness, Maharaja Bahadur of J&K State under a statute and this organisation is thus a instrumentality of the Stare and it being so can be termed as State within the meaning of Art. 12 of the constitution thereby affording jurisdiction in the court to adjudicate upon the matter projected in the petition. Mr. J. P. Singh appearing for the other side on caveat has, however, disputed this contention of the petitioner and according to him Dharmarth Trust has nothing to do with the Government as this Institute neither derives any authority from the State nor is being funded by the Government -