DAYA RAM Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Dr. Katju who argued this application for revision desired to impress the Court by stating that members of both sections of the Radhaswami sect were mostly LL. Bs. and not likely to cause a breach of the peace. He has been kind enough to furnish this Court with a typed copy of all the relevant papers which has been a great help and saved a considerable amount of time. On the vary first page there is a letter of the then District Magistrate Mr. Dreyfus, dated 12 June 1927, in which he speaks of a complaint by members of the faction whom Dr. Katju represents that; they were pummelled and pushed by LL. B s. of the opposite faction. The whole typed record is full of indication as to a fear of a breach of the peace, if no orders were passed to restrict the two parties and it is therefore idle to argue here that there was no possibility of a breach of the peace. The heading of the very order objected to shows Emperor V/s. Nehal Chand, that proceedings were started on the complaint of Dr. Katju's party, and that it was not the other party which first sought the protection of a criminal Court. The order complained of is by the District Magistrate of Agra, dated 22 June, 1929, and the typed book gives in serial order the various proceedings which followed the letter of the District Magistrate of l2 June 1927 referred to by me above. I consider the present order of 22 June, 1929, to be merely in continuation of the proceedings instituted in 1927. It is not necessary to go into details as to the dispute between the two factions but some summary of the dispute is necessary. There was no schism in the Radhaswami sect till the death of the Guru Mahraj Saheb in 1907. He was an accountant deeply versed in finance before it was discovered that he was an emanation of God.

(2.) He, therefore, took the very wise step of establishing a trust in 1904, and putting all the properties of the brotherhood in charge of the trust. Of the two present factions the Swamibagh faction and the Dayalbagh faction, this trust has been captured by the Swamibagh faction and that faction is an charge of the properties. The dispute arose after the death of Maharaj Saheb as he had indicated his sister as the next emanation, but on his death some of his followers did not accept that indication, but seceded and discovered the emanation in a gentleman of the name of Mr. Kamta Prasad Sinha, known after his recognition as Sarkar Saheb. The trust being captured by the Swamibagh section, the other section of the Dayalbagh found difficulty in worshipping at the shrines of their religion, two of them being at Agra, known as She samadhs, and a dispute arose as to the right of the Dayalbagh section to enter these samadhs for the purposes of worship.

(3.) It appears that in 1927, the Dayal bagh people insisted on entering which led to the complaint to the District Magistrate by members of the Swamibagh section against the rough behaviour of members of the Dayalbagh section. At that time an appeal had been pending in this Court from a decision of the Subordinate Judge of Benares in a suit filed for a declaration by an official of the Swamibagh section, and it was desired by that section that the trust may be declared a private trust and not a public one and that the men of the opposite faction may be debarred from the use of the properties belonging to the trust. That suit failed in the Court of the Subordinate Judge and the appeal was dismissed by this Court on 12 June 1929. As the dispute was brought to the District Magistrate in 1927, proceedings continued and various orders were passed restricting the Dayalbagh section from the free use of the two samadhs at Agra. Finally on 11 June 1929, the two parties came to a settlement and agreed to abide by the judgment of the High Court. The judgment of the High Court was delivered on 12 June and the District Magistrate's order complained of was passed on 22nd June. He removed all the restrictions placed on the Dayalbagh section as to the use of the semadhs. Dr. Katju frankly admitted that no objection can be raised to that portion of the order. If according to him the District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to interfere necessarily, it will follow that the District Magistrate will have no jurisdiction to place any restrictions on the use of the samadhs by the Dayalbagh section and he could not complain of the removal of these restrictions. After removing these restrictions the order goes on: provided only that they shall not held any ceremonies or worship on such day or days as may be reasonably required by the Swamibagh branch for similar ceremonies for their party.