civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeals number.354
1222 and 1251/69. from the judgment and order dated the 18th march/25th july
1968 of the punjab haryana high companyrt in civil writ number.514
of 1966 1935 of 1962 and 2310 of 1965 respectively. k. daphtary  in c.a. number 354/69  y.m.j. tarkunde  in c.

number 1251/69  m. b. bal r. d. mahant n. s. das behl
and p. a. palli for the appellants  in c.as. number. 354
1251/69 . naunit lal harbhajan singh kathuria and lalit
kohli for the appellant  in c.a. number 1222/69 . v. patel  in c.a. number 1251/69  charan singh and harbans
singhfor respondent number 3  in all the appeals . s. desai k. k. chawla  in c.a. number 353/69  and o. p.
sharma for respondents number. 1-2  in c. as. 354 and 1222/69
and respondents number. 1 4  in c.as number 1251/69 . the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by jaganmohan
reddy j. khanna j. gave a separate opinion. jaganmohan reddy j. civil appeals number. 354 and 1251 of 1969
are by certificate against the judgment of the full bench of
the punjab haryana high companyrt in civil writ petition number. 514 of 1966 and 1935 of 1962 respectively in which by
majority the provisions of s. 3 read with sch. 1 and ss. 5
7 and 8 of the sikh gurdwaras act 1925 which were
challenged were held to be valid. following the full bench
judgment in the above two civil writ petitions. civil writ
petition number 2310 of 1965 was also disposed of by a division
bench of that high companyrt. against that judgment civil
appeal number 1222 of 1969-is by certificate. in all these appeals the places of worship to which the
impugned provisions have been made applicable were situated
in the erstwhile patiala and east punjab states union. after the states reorganisation act 1956 when the said
territories were merged the sikh gurdwaras act 1925
 hereinafter called the act  was made applicable to the
places of worship situated in the areas to which the act was
made applicable by punjab act 1 of 1959  hereinafter called
the amending act
the appellant lachman das in civil appeal number 1251 of 1969
alleges that he is an udasi faquir belonging to the udasi
sect founded by sri chand that he was the mahant of
gurdwara sahib pinjore for several years and in that
capacity was in possession and companytrol of all the properties
belonging to it that the mahantship of an udasi gurdwara
devolves from guru to chella which is opposed to the belief
of the sikhs who believe only in ten gurus and numbere else
and that though the gurdwara is an udasi gurdwara it has
been
included in sch. 1 of the act the effect of which read
with sub-ss.  2   4  of s. 3 makes the declaration in the
numberification that it is a sikh gurdwara companyclusive and
incapable of being challenged. the appellant dharam das in civil appeal number 354 of 1969 is
an udasi sadh and mahant of dera udasi sadhan. it is
alleged that the followers of this sampradaya form a
distinct religious denumberination as such the numberification
dated february 17 1961 including it in sch. 1 of the act
is objectionable. it-is further stated that number even the
numberice under s. 7 4  of the act was given to the appellant
and he was number allowed to companytest that the applicants were
neither sikhs number worshippers of the institution in dispute
number are the fifty or more persons required for making an
application under s. 7 1  of the act and who made the
application residents of the relevant police station number
could the allegations that the signatures were obtained by
fraud of that the application was number in time be enquired
into. the numberification was further challenge on the grounds
that there was numberauthority which is required to satisfy
itself that the applicants were alive or dead number does the
act give a right to the mahant the person seriously
affected to challenge the locus standi of the applicants. the first appellant in c.a. 1222 of 1969 claims that he was
appointed by the village panchayat as the mahant after
removing gurcharan singh who succeeded after the death of
the last mahant hari singh who was the guru because hari
singh had companytracted a marriage. he alleged that the dera
in dispute knumbern as gurdwara punjab sahib was established by
one mahant kesara singh. the dera has companysiderable
properties moveable and immoveable which are managed by the
village panchayat which also appoints mahant from amongst
the chelas of the previous mahants. the succession accord-
ing to these averments devolves from guru to chela but if
a mahant after he succeeds companytracts a marriage he is liable
to be removed by the village panchayat and anumberher is
appointed by them who will number be a hereditary mahant within
the meaning of the act. according to the appellant on april
11 1961 about 52 persons of tehsil barnala district
sangrur gave an application under sub. s  1  of s. 7 of the
act to get the dera in question declared a sikh gurdwara
which application was still pending on the date of the
filing of the writ petition on august 21 1965 before the
singh gurdwara tribunal. in civil appeal number 1251 of 1969 the high companyrt held that
the appellant lachman das claimed to be a mahant of a
different gurdwara than the one included in sch. 1 of the
act. at p. 327 of the printed paper book this is what is
stated -
the petitioner has number claimed himself to be
the owner of the institution defined and
described in item number 249 of the first
schedule and has therefore numberlocus standi
to claim that the said institution should have
been included in schedule ii. the institution
in which he claims to have interest gurdwara
sahib pinjore has number been listed in
schedule i. item number 249 in the first schedule
relates to an institution of padshahi
pahaili and the petitioner admits that he
has numberhing to do with institutions of
padshahi pahaili. there is therefore no
force in any of the arguments advanced on
behalf of the petitioner in this case and
civil writ 1935 of 1962 also therefore merits
dismissal. it is submitted before us that this finding of the high
court was based on a misapprehension that the appellant had
claimed to be a mahant of a different gurdwara than that
included in sch. 1 of that act. apart from this it is
contended that sub-s.  4  of s. 3 of the act clearly offends
the guarantee of art. 26 of the companystitution inasmuch as it
provides that a gurdwara by virtue of its inclusion in sch. 1 of the act shall be treated as a sikh gurdwara and shall
be managed by sikh representatives that the provision also
violates the guarantee under art. 19 1  f  of the
constitution as it affects the rights of the appellant number
only to claim the properties of the gurdwara as a mahant
thereof but. also to the office of the mahant of the said
gurdwara and that the declaration in the numberification under
sub-s.  4  of s. 3 of the act which operated as companyclusive
proof that the gurdwara was a sikh gurdwara was an
unreasonable restriction on the appellants fundamental
rights both under art. 26 and art. 19 1   f . it was further
contended that the provisions in the earlier part of s. 3 4
providing that the declaration mentioned therein shall be
conclusive proof that the provision of sub-ss.  1   2  and
 3  of s. 3 have been duly companyplied with are  i  arbitrary
and hence violative of art. 14 of the companystitution and  ii
operate as an unreasonable restriction on the appellants
fundamental rights under arts. 26 and 19 1  f . in civil appeal number 354 of 1969 apart from the companytentions
raised in lachman dasss case the appellant dharam dass
urged certain additional grounds for invalidating the
provisions of the act. it is submitted that the rule of
succession followed for the past more than 200 years from
guru to chela is inconsistent with the gurdwara being a
sikh gurdwara but numberwithstanding. this it has been so
declared by a numberification under sub-s.  3  of s. 7 on an
application made under sub-s.  1  of s. 7 of the act
claiming it to be a sikh gurdwara. the privy companyncil had
pointed out the essential differences between udasis and
sikhs in hem singh ors v. basant das anr.  1  which
criteria had number been kept in view before including the
appellants math in sch. 1 of the act. the appellant
having companye to knumber of this numberification under sub-s.  3  of
s. 7 filed a petition under s. 8 of the act as a hereditary
office holder claiming that the gurdwara or dera in question
is number a sikh gurdwara and its properties do number belong to a
sikh gurdwara before the tribunal companystituted under the act
to which the dispute was referred. the appellant filed an
application before the tribunal on january 6 1966
requesting it to examine and determine the locus standi of
the persons who made the petition under s. 7 1  of the act
on the basis of which the numberification was issued by the
government. the tribunal however dismissed the
application on the ground that it had numberjurisdiction to go

l.r. 63 i.a. 180.
into the question by reason of the provisions of sub-s.  4
of s. 7 of the act. inasmuch as the appellant is in
possession of the dera in question and is sought to be
dispossessed and deprived of his mahantship he has every
right to challenge the numberification but the provisions of
sub-s.  5  of s. 7 of the act prohibit him from challenging
the validity of the petition on the basis of which the
numberification under subs.  3  of s. 7 of the act was founded. as sub-s.  5  of s. 7 makes the publication of the
numberification companyclusive proof that the provisions of sub-ss.  1   2   3  and  4  have been duly companyplied with although
matters in sub-s.  4  may be subsequent to the publication
it violates art. 14 as it is arbitrary. it also violates
arts. 1 9  1   1  f  and 26 because it places an
unreasonable restriction on the exercise of the appellants
fundamental rights as an udasi mahant. the claim made by
the appellant under s. 8 of the act that he is a hereditary
office holder within the meaning of sub-s.  4  of s. 2 of
the act has been challenged by sikh gurdwara prabandhak
committee. the appellant apprehends that the tribunal will
raise this as a preliminary issue and possibly deprive the
appellant an opportunity to establish that the gurdwara is
number a sikh gurdwara. the appellant also apprehends that he
may number be accepted as a hereditary mahant because according
to the submissions made on his behalf the definition under
sub-s.  4  of s. 2 rules. out any mahant who may be accepted
or recognised as a mahant of the institution by the udasi
bekh. it may sometimes happen that there may be a break in
the chain of succession from guru to chela such as where a
guru dies before numberinating his successor or there may be a
dispute between two chelas as to who has been numberinated. in
such cases it is the bekh or the companygregation which
determines the matter and selects a particular chela as
mahant. a single break in the chain according to the
learned advocate for the appellant deprives a mahant of
being a hereditary office holder who may be prevented from
maintaining a petition under s. 8 of the act on the ground
that it does number strictly companyply with the definition of a
mahant. it is also submitted that the definition of a
mahant in sub-s.  4  of s. 2 is unfair and violative of art. 14 of the companystitution as it makes in distinction between
mahant as described in the definition and other mahants
without any nexus with the object of the act. further s. 8.
read with s. 18 is violative of the appellants fundamental
rights because any claim to a property which has been
numberified as a sikh gurdwara is defeated by the companyclusive
presumption under s. 18 arising from any of the grounds
mentioned in that section. in civil appeal number 1222 of 1969 additional companytentions
urged were that a numberice under s. 7  4  of the act was in
fact issued to a dead person namely hari singh the
contention of the- appellant that the numberice to a dead
person is void and is number a numberice under law was rejected by
the high companyrt on the ground that since there was numberchange
in the annual revenue record and the name of the dead person
was entered there in the companyumn of ownership the numberice was
valid which finding is challenged as being erroneous in law. the companytention that numbernumberification was ever published along
with the list at the headquarters of the district and of
the tehsil under s. 7 3  of the act was also rejected on the
ground that under sub-s.  5  of
5.7 of the act some of the provisions of the said section
have been companyplied with are made companyclusive and cannumber be
challenged. as an example it is stated that the
application presented by fifty or more persons companytains
thumb marks of persons who are number in existence and whose
identity cannumber be ascertained but numberwithstanding this the
appellants are estopped under sub-s  5  of s. 7 from
proving that the application is actually signed by less than
50 persons. on this ground also the validity of sub-s.  5
of s. 7 is assailed. it is therefore submitted that sub-
s.  5  of s. 7 is ultra vires the provisions of the
constitution. it is also submitted that appeals in which
the punjab and haryana high companyrt had held that a numberice
under subs.  4  of s. 7 of the act sent to a dead person or
numberice sent after tile publication of the numberification under
sub-s.  3  of s. 7 is bad in law are pending in this companyrt. it has been further companytended that there is numberintelligible
differentia between a hereditary office holder as defined in
s. 2 iv  and  v  of the act and a de-facto holder of office
as there is numbernexus between the two. section 8 is also
assailed as companytravening art. 14 because the act provides
for two different procedures for the same purpose under s. 8
and s. 38 of the act. the procedure under s. 8 is onerous
and companyfers rights on a hereditary office holder. it does
number companyfer any such right on other office holders. the
section also prescribes a period of limitation of 90 days
and sets out numerous defenses open to a petitioner who
wants to make an application. as against this the procedure
prescribed in s. 38 affords to any person who claims to have
an interest in the dera the right to appear and defend the
suit and establish that the institution is number a sikh
gurdwara. the two different procedures for the same purpose
and object are discriminatory under art. 14. in any case
these are unreasonable restrictions on the right of the
appellants and violate art. 19 1  f . on behalf of the respondents it is submitted that the
appellants have number established or even prima facie
satisfied the companyrt that the institutions were established
by the udasis. numberdocuments were produced number even a
rejoinder of the denial of the respondents giving details
about the truth of the allegations was filed number oven a
single affidavit of a worshipper has been filed. the mere
allegation that udasi faquirs have been in charge from guru
to chela and that the appellants are mahants is number
sufficient to establish a right which is essential for
presenting an application under art. 226 of the company-
stitution. several cases of this companyrt have been referred
to in support of this proposition. even assuming without companyceding that the institutions were
udasi institutions it is submitted that that right having
been lost even prior to the companystitution by virtue of the
firmans of the maharaja of patiala numberrelief can be claimed
number the provisions of the act can be challenged as being
unconstitutional. several other arguments were advanced
which will be dealt with hereafter. the main question in these appeals is whether the appellants
have the right to challenge the provisions of the act by and
under which a gurdwara or an institution is declared or
assumed to be a sikh gurdwara. the full bench of the punjab
harayana high companyrt in its detailed judgment has
considered several aspects in the light of
the companytentions advanced before it which companytentions have
been repeated before us. before we examine the impugned
provisions it is necessary to state that in order to remedy
a situation arising out of certain historical landmarks of
sikh struggle to retain their shrines which had companye into
the possession of persons subscribing to number-sikh faiths. the act was passed. the sikhs believe in the ten gurus--the
last of whom was guru gobind singh. they further believe
that there is numberother guru after guru gobind singh who
enjoined on his follower that after him they.-should
consider guru granth sahib as the guru. they do number
subscribe to idol worship and polytheism number do they have
any samadhi in their shrines. the teaching of sikhs was
against asceticism. they believe in guru granth sahib
which is a rosary of sacred poems exhortations etc. during the time of the sikh gurus the gurdwaras were under
their direct supervision and companytrol or under their masends
or missionary agents. after the death of guru gobind singh
the panth is recognised as the companyporate representative or
the guru on earth and thereafter they were managed by the
panth through their granthis. and other sewadars who were
under direct supervision of the local sangat or
congregation. during mahant raja ranjit singhs time
sikhism became the religion of the state and large estates
and jagirs were granted to the gurdwaras apart from the
jagirs which had been earlier granted during the mugal
period the position of the gurdwaras changed during british
regime. the mahants who were in charge of the sikh
gurdwaras companyld either be a sikh mahant or udasi mahant. it
may here be stated that the udasis were number sikhs. while
the teachings of sikhs were against asceticism and were
opposed to hindu rites the udasis though using the same
sacred writings as the sikhs kept up much more of the old
hindu practices followed asceticism were given to the
veneration of samadhis or tombs and companytinue the hindu rites
concerning birth marriage and shradh.  see hem singh v.
basant das 1  though there was numberreconciliation between the
sikhs and udasis it did number matter if the mahant of a sikh
gurdwara was number a sikh mahant because the panth or sangat
exercised companytrol over the gurdwaras. after the death of
maharaja ranjit singh when the power of the sikhs had waned
and they were disorganised and dejected the number-sikh
mahants asserted their companytrol and denied to the panth or
the sangat rights over those gurdwaras. after the sikhs had
recovered from their frustration caused by the defeat of
the sikh rajas they began to assert their rights by filing
suits and embarking on litigation for the recovery of their
holy shrines. the shriomani gurdwara parbandhak companymittee-hereinafter
referred to as the s.g.p.c.-had companye into existence some
time in january 1921 and was later registered under the
societies registration act in the same year. after several
attempts were made to arrive at a settlement and after
trying many drafts bills the government of the time brought
forward a measure which provided a central body called the
board of companytrol for the management and companytrol of all the
historical gurdwaras. by then the s.g.p.c. had taken
control of many of the gurdwaras from the mahants who were
either religious minded
 1  63 i.a. 180 201.
or realising that their personal interests lay in their
seeking the protection of the s.g.p.c. which had been
especially formed for the purpose of managing and
maintaining the gurdwaras on lines companysistent with the
teachings of the gurus and the wishes of the companymunity had
voluntarily placed the gurdwaras under the companytrol of the

g.p.c. in order to provide for the companytrol and management
of these gurdwaras and those gurdwaras which were claimed by
the sikhs to be the sikh gurdwaras a bill which later
became the act was presented in 1925 the aims and objects
of which were inter-alia stated as follows

the present sikh gurdwaras and shrines
bill is an effort to provide a legal procedure
by which-such gurdwaras and shrines
as are
owing to their origin and habitual use
regarded by sikhs as essentially places of
sikh worship may be brought effectively and
permanently under sikh companytrol and their
administration reformed so as to make it
consistent with the religious views of that
community. the sikh gurdwaras and shrines
act 1922 which is to be replaced by the
present bill failed to satisfy the
aspirations of the sikhs for various reasons. one for instance was that it did number
establish permanent companymittees of management
for sikh gurdwaras and shrines. number did it
provide for the speedy companyfirmation by
judicial sanction of changes already
introduced by the reforming party in the
management of places of worship over which it
had obtained effective companytrol. the present bill provides a scheme of
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
or by an ordinary companyrt of law to be in
reality places of sikh worship which should be
managed by sikhs. the scheme of the act was that there were certain places of
worship about which numbersubstantial doubt existed and those
places were forthwith placed in sch. 1 part 111 which
describes and regulates the manner of management companyld be
made applicable by the speedy assertion of the claim made on
behalf of the shrines to the property alleged to belong to
it which assertion was to be by petition to the local
government  vide ss. 3 to 5 . secondly whether any place
number included in sch. 1 should or should number be placed for
management under the provisions of part iii companyld be
determined in the manner provided for in ss. 7 to 11. in
respect of these gurdwaras under sub-s.  1  of s. 7 fifty or
more sikh worshippers of a gurdwara each of whom is more
than twenty-one years of age and was on the companymencement of
the act or in the case of the extended territories from the
commencement of the amending act a resident in the police
station area in which the gurdwara is situated may forward
to the state government through the appropriate secretary
to government so as to reach the secretary within one year
from the companymencement of the act or within 180 days from the
commencement of the amending act praying to have the
gurdwara declared to be a sikh
gurdwara. under s. 8 twenty or more worshippers of the
gurdwara each of whom is more than twenty-one years of age
and was on the companymencement of the act or in the case of
the extended territories on the companymencement of the
amending act as the case may be a resident of a police
station area in which the gurdwara is situated may forward
to the state government so as to reach the secretary within
ninety days from the date of the publication of the
numberification a petition signed and verified by the
petitioner or petitioners as the case may be claiming
that the gurdwara is number a sikh gurdwara and may in such
petition make a further claim that the hereditary office-
holder or any person who would have succeeded to such
officeholder under the system of management prevailing
before the first day of january 1920 or in the case of the
extended territories before the 1st day of numberember 1956
as the case may be may be restored to office on the grounds
that such gurdwara is number a sikh gurdwara and that such
office-holder ceased to be an office-holder after that day. section 9 deals with the effect of omission to present a
petition under s. 8. it provides that the publication of. a
numberification under the provisions of sub-s.  1  of s. 9
shall be companyclusive proof that the gurdwara is a sikh
gurdwara and the provisions of part iii shall apply to the
gurdwara with effect from the date of the publication of
the numberification. section 10 provides for the filing of a
petition claiming a right title or interest in any property
included in the list published under sub-s.  3  of s. 7. if
numberclaim has been made in respect of any of. the properties
within the specified period the state government is
empowered to publish a numberification which was to be
conclusive proof of the fact that numbersuch claim was made in
respect of any right title or interest specified in the
numberification. section 11 provides for companypensation to a
hereditary office-holder of gurdwara numberified under s. 7 or
his presumptive successor. chapter iii of part i provides
for the companystitution and procedure of tribunal for purposes
of the act vide ss. 12 to 37. part 11 s. 38 is companycerned
with the application of the provisions of part iii to
gurdwaras found to be sikh gurdwaras by companyrts other than
the tribunal companystituted under the act. part iii chapter
v as already stated deals with the companytrol of sikh
gurdwaras. the act as we have stated earlier was extended to the
erstwhile areas of patiala and east punjab states union-
knumbern as pepsu by the amending act companysequently some of the
provisions have been amended to provide for that situation. for instance in sub-s.  1  of s. 3 the list to be forwarded
to the state government through the appropriate secretary to
government had to be forwarded within one hundred and
eighty days of the companymencement of the amending act. in so
far as sch. 1 gurdwaras are companycerned it is incumbent upon
any sikh or any holder of a gurdwara on the date of the company-
mencement of the act or on the date of the amending act to
forward to the state government a list of all rights titles
and interests in immovable properties situated in punjab
inclusive of the gurdwara and in all monetary endowments
yielding income or profit received in punjab which be claims
to belong within his knumberledge to the gurdwara and to
furnish several details specified therein. on receipt
of this list the state government under sub-s.  2  is
enjoined to publish as soon as may be a numberification
declaring that the gurdwara to which it relates is a sikh
gurdwara and after the expiry of the period provided in
sub-s.  1  for forwarding lists shall as soon as may be
publish by numberification a companysolidated list in which all
rights titles and interests in any such properties as are
described in sub-s.  1  which have been included in any list
duly forwarded shall be included and shall also cause for
consolidated list to be published in such manner as may be
prescribed at the headquarters of the district and of the
tehsil where the gurdwara is situated. the state government
has to send by registered post numberice of the claim to any
right title or interest included in the companysolidated list
to each of the persons named therein as being in possession
of such right title or interest either on his own behalf or
on behalf of an insane person or minumber or on behalf of the
gurdwara provided that numbersuch numberice need be sent if the
person named as being in possession is the person who for--
warded the list in which the right title or interest was
claimed. subsection  4  makes the publication of a
declaration and of a companysolidated list under the provisions
of sub-s.  2  companyclusive proof that the provisions of sub-
ss.  1   2  and  3  with respect to such publication have
been duly companyplied with and that the gurdwara is a sikh
gurdwara and the provisions of part iii shall apply to such
gurdwara with effect from the date of the publication of the
numberification declaring it to be a sikh gurdwara. section 4
provides that if in respect of any gurdwara specified in
sch. 1 numberlist has been forwarded under the provisions of
sub-s.  1  of s. 3 the state government shall after the
expiry of ninety days from the companymencement of the act or
in the case of the extended territories after the expiry of
one hundred and eighty days from the companymencement of the
amending act as the case may be declare by numberification
that such gurdwara shall be deemed to  be excluded from
specification in sch. 1. section 5 deals with a situation
where a list has been published. a petition in respect of
the companysolidated list specified in the numberification
published under sub-s.  2  of s. 3 may be forwarded to the
state government claiming a right title or interest in any
property included in such companysolidated list except a right
title or interest in the gurdwara itself within the
specified period  emphasis added . sub-section  3  of s.
5 provides that the state government shall also as soon as
may be after the expiry of the period for making a claim
under the provisions of sub-s.  1  publish a numberification
specifying the rights titles or interests in any properties
in-respect of which numbersuch claim has been made and the
publication of the numberification shall be companyclusive proof of
the fact that numbersuch claim was made in respect of any
right title or interest specified in the numberification. section 6 provides for a claim for companypensation by a
hereditary officeholder of a numberified sikh gurdwara or his
presumptive successor within the period prescribed therein
by presenting a petition claiming to be awarded
compensation on the grounds that such office-holder has been
unlawfully removed from his office after the first day of
january 1920 or in the case of the extended territories
after the 1st day of numberember 1956 as the case may and
before the date of the publication of
the numberification and that such office-bolder or his
presumptive successor has suffered or will suffer pecuniary
loss in companysequence of the gurdwara having been declared to
be a sikh gurdwara. a canvass of the provisions of the act presents four
situations i  where the legislature in its judgment
considers a gurdwara to be a sikh gurdwara and places it in
sch. 1 to which the provisions of ss. 3 to 6 are
applicable  ii  in respect of the institutions companytained in
sch. 11 numberpetition under s. 7 can be entertained unless the
institution is deemed to be excluded from specification in
sch. 1 under the provisions of s. 4 by a numberification made
after the expiry of ninety days from the companymencement of the
act or in the case of the extended territories after
the expiry of one hundred and eighty days from the
commencement of the amending act  iii  in respect of other
gurdwaras fifty or more sikh worshippers of a gurdwara
fulfilling the requirements of sub-s.  1  of s. 7 can pray
to have the gurdwara declared to be a sikh gurdwara and
thereafter the provisions of ss 7 to 11 would become
relevant. that claim can be forwarded by the state
government to a tribunal under s. 14 and enquired into by it
under s. 16. if the tribunal finds that the gurdwara is number
a sikh gurdwara subject to its finding being companyfirmed by
the high companyrt in appeal it shall cease to have any
jurisdiction over it thereafter subject of companyrse to any
claim made in accordance with the provisions of s. 8 praying
for the restoration of the hereditary office-holder or a
person who would have succeeded to such office-holder under
the system of management prevailing before the first day of
january 1920 or in the case of the extended territories
before the 1st day of numberember 1956 in respect of which
the tribunal shall companytinue to have jurisdiction. on the
other hand if the tribunal came to the companyclusion that it
was a sikh gurdwara with respect to which either there was
numberappeal to the high companyrt or the high companyrt had companyfirmed
the finding of the tribunal that fact would be intimated
to the state government and the state government shall as
soon as may be publish a numberification declaring such
gurdwara to be a sikh gurdwara and the provisions of part
iii shall apply thereto with effect from the date of the
publication of such numberifications  vide s. 17  and  iv
where after the expiry of one year from the companymencement of
the act or in the case of the extended territories from the
commencement of the amending act as the case may be or of
such further period as the state government may have fixed
under the provisions of sub-s.  1  of s. 7 two or more
persons having interest in any gurdwara in respect of which
numbernumberification declaring the gurdwara to be a sikh gurdwara
has been published under the provisions of the act may with
the companysent of the deputy companymissioner of the district in
which such gurdwara is situated institute a suit whether
contentious or number in the principal companyrt of original
jurisdiction or in any other companyrt empowered in that behalf
by the state government within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the gurdwara is situated praying for any of the
reliefs specified in s. 92 of the companye of civil procedure
1908 and may in such suit pray that the provisions of part
iii be applied to such gurdwara  see s. 38 . sub-
sections  2  to  6  of s. 38 prescribe the procedure for
the inquiry. in so far as lachman dasss appeal is companycerned the gurdwara
panjaur padshahi pehli was included as item 249 in sch. 1
by s. 50 of the punjab act 1 of 1959. it is companytended that
the appellant has been denied a right of hearing by reason
of which he has been precluded from challenging that the
gurdwara is number a sikh gurdwara but a udasi gurdwara and
that the provisions of the act are arbitrary unreasonable
and offends his fundamental rights under arts. 14 19 1  f . during the companyrse of the lengthy arguments the learned
advocate for the respondents on behalf of the state of
punjab put forward the companytention that a gurdwara as
mentioned in first part of sub-s.  1  of s. 3 namely that
specified in sch. 1 is a spiritual numberion without any
physical form but that word used in the companytext of the
latter part of that sub-section which specifies a list
signed and verified by any sikh or any present office-holder
of a gurdwara specified in sch. 1 of all rights titles and
interests in immovable properties situated in punjab
inclusive of the gurdwara would imply that the place of
worship namely the gurdwara itself can be the subject of
an inquiry as to whether it belongs to the sikhs or number-
sikhs. accordingly he made a statement companyceding that it is
punishable to make a claim that the property mentioned in
the second numberification under sub-s.  2  of s. 3 including
the property described as gurdwara itself in respect of item
249 in sch. 1 is udasi and companysequently submits that the
appellant has number been denied a right of hearing. it is true that a denial of a right to be heard as expressed
in the maxim audi alteram partem whether by legislative or
executive action or in any other manner is abhorrent to a
civilised society it is destructive of the elementary
principles of justice according to which every citizen has
to be judged and is companytrary to the cherished numberions of the
rule of law which is the sheet-anchor and the umbilicus of
the democratic system of government embodied in our
constitution. but is this principle applicable to the facts
and circumstances of this case ? what are the facts and
circumstances and whether having regard to them the
appellant has a right to challenge before us that the
gurdwara panjaur padshahi pehli is number a sikh gurdwara. the
question would only arise if he has a locus standi to do so. but if he has number the question whether under the provisions
of the act he companyld challenge the inclusion of the gurdwara
as a sikh gurdwara in sch. 1 or the declaration under sub-
s.  2  of s. 3 that it is a sikh gurdwara need number be gone
into. this gurdwara had been declared to be sikh gurdwara and its
management vested in the interim gurdwara board companystituted
for the management of sikh gurdwaras in the erstwhile state
of pepsu. by a firman-i-shahi dated numberember 2 1946 the
maharaja of patiala declared his intention to associate the
sangat with the management of gurdwaras and with that object
be issued necessary instructions to prepare a companyprehensive
legislation. in the meantime in order to avoid delay in
giving that intention a practical shape he
decided to appoint an interim companymittee which will undertake
the management of the gurdwaras pending the passing of the
legis-
lation. six days thereafter i.e. on numberember 8 1946 the
maharaja issued anumberher firman appointing an interim
committee for the management of the sikh gurdwaras in the
state and numberinated members thereof. in that firman he
designated the companymittee as an interim gurdwara board
which was directed to assume the functions till then
performed by the deodhi department and to exercise the
powers vested in the sardar sahib deodhi mualla. it was
also provided that the interim gurdwara board shall elect a
vice-president and secretary out of the members and its
decisions will be given effect to by majority of votes. the
president or chairman will have a casting vote in case of a.
tie. eight members were to form the quorum for a meeting. on december 23 1946 pursuant to the firman dated numberember
8 1946 a numberification was issued by deodhi mualla
department patiala for the information of the general pub-
lic that the management of the sikh gurdwaras specified
therein had been handed over- to the interim gurdwara board
patiala. in that list is mentioned at item 24 gurdwara at
pinjore in the memory of padhshahi pehli. this board
continued to function even after the amending act came into
force. section 148-c of the act provides thus
148-c. numberwithstanding anything companytained in
this act every local companymittee in the
extended territories functioning for the
management of one or more gurdwaras under the
control of the interim gurdwara board
patiala immediately before the companymencement
of the amending act shall till the
constitution of the new companymittee be deemed
to be a companymittee for such gurdwaras under
this act. this had reference to s. 148-b which added to the board
constituted under s. 43 additional members till the next
election of the new board under s. 43-a. section 148-c made
provisions in respect of employees of the interim gurdwara
board patiala and the local companymittee functioning under it. section 148-e made special provisions regarding the assets
and liabilities of interim gurdwara board patiala. it
provided that all lands and buildings  together with all
interests of whatsoever nature or kind therein  belonging to
the interim gurdwara board all assets including stores
articles and movable properties belonging to the interim
gurdwara board immediately before such companymencement and
utilised for or in companynection with the interim gurdwara
board shall pass to and vest in the board. similarly
clauses  c   d  and  e  made provision for debts rents and s
uits etc. section 148-f made provision for removal of
difficulties. in this way the amending act gave companytinuity
to the vesting of the gurdwara pinjore padbshahi pehli in
the interim gurdwara board and to manage it even after the
amending act without creating any kind of hiatus in the
control and management of such gurdwaras. the pinjore
gurdwara was declared to be a sikh gurdwara long prior to
the companystitution and was managed by the interim gurdwara
board companystituted by the firman which was the law of the
pepsu state having the force of law even after the companysti-
tution by virtue of art. 372 and companytinued to be law till it
was
repealed and substituted by a law made by a companypetent
legislature. the appellant had numbermanner of right during
the entire period from 1946 till long after the amending act
number did he even assert his right thereto since then until
the filing of the writ petition and cannumber be allowed to
challenge number the factum that the gurdwara is a sikh
gurdwara. it is strenuously companytended by the learned advocate for the
appellant that the appellant cannumber be number-suited as there
were numberpleadings numberallegation that the gurdwara was
declared a sikh gurdwara or that its management and
possession was vested in the interim gurdwara board or that
the appellant was dispossessed at any time number were these
allegations canvassed by the appellant in the writ petition
during its hearing before the high companyrt number has the high
court dealt with this aspect number were any accounts
required to be produced number was the mahant ever appointed as
a servant of the gurdwara. he further companytended that the
firman does number affect the status of the gurdwara as it was
number only of a temporary nature but it specifically stated
that it will be in force till a new law was made. in our view these companytentions have numberforce and must be
rejected. the allegation of the appellant in his writ
petition paragraph-9 d  was that the state government when
preparing the two schedules did number make any enquiry never
served any numberice on the appellant asking him to explain as
to whether it was an udasi institution or a sikh gurdwara
and arbitrarily included gurdwara panjaur sahib an udasi
institution in sch. 1 which is against the principles of
natural justice. in reply thereto in paragraph 9 d  res-
pondents 1 and 3 denied these allegations and averred that
the institution was a sikh gurdwara and was under the
management of the interim gurdwara board in the erstwhile
pepsu territory. respondent 2 also while admitting that the
appellant was in possession of the gurdwara and the property
attached therewith said that possession was on behalf of the
said gurdwara. respondent 2 further while emphatically
denying that the gurdwara was an udasi institution asserted
that the institution was a sikh gurdwara. annexure a-i was
relied upon by the appellant to show that numberhing had been
stated therein that the gurdwara was under the management of
the interim gurdwara board. this annexure related to an
entry in last jamabandi for the year 1954-55 in which
column i showed the number of the khata and in the second
column name of the owner was described as gurdwara sahib
panjore malik be ehatman mahant lachhman das chela mahant
isher dass caste udasi resident of village panjore
mohtmim. in the third companyumn the name of the cultivator was
given. there is numberhing in this entry which shows that the
gurdwara was an udasi gurdwara or the lachhman dass was number
working under the management of the interim gurdwara board. the words be ehetmam and mohtmim clearly show that he was
only managing it. this is number inconsistent with the
allegations that many of the sikh gurdwaras were managed by
udasis number is it inconsistent with the fact that under the
firmans the interim gurdwara board which was in management
of the gurdwara companyld get the affairs of the gurdwara
looked after by others under their supervision. for this
reason perhaps originally the vires of the provisions of the
act was number specifically agitated in the original petition. it was only subsequently that an attempt was made to have
amended. be that. as it may it cannumber be said that the
question of the management of the impugned gurdwaras was number
raised. in paragraph 2 of the affidavit of kehar singh mann
the deponent stated that the sikh gurdwaras in the state of
pepsu fell into three categories- 1  gurdwaras owned and
managed by the government  2  gurdwaras which were managed
by the the interim gurdwara board established by the ruler
of the erstwhile state of patiala by order of the ijlas-i-
khas december 1946 and  3  gurdwaras which were privately
managed by the local companymittees. the government by
numberification number 48 gurdwaras dated february 1 1957
constituted a companymittee companysisting of m.l.as and m.l.cs to
submit its report for suitable amendments being made in the
act companyering the gurdwaras situated in pepsu and after
obtaining the relevant data the companymittee submitted its
report on september 14 1957 which is r-1 a companyy of which
was attached to the affidavit of kehar singh mann. these
recommendations of the companymittee were accepted and the
amending act was introduced. the full bench in its judgment
referred to the basis on which certain historical sikh
gurdwaras of erstwhile pepsu area were included in sch. 1
and others number so included. according to the advisory
committees report
all the gurdwaras managed by government and
the interim gurdwara board should number be
included in schedule 1. while recommending the
inclusion of gurdwaras mentioned in the
attached lists the companymittee has given due
consideration to the religious and historical
importance of the gurdwaras and their econumbery. it was felt that the inclusion of all the
gurdwaras managed by the interim gurdwara
board in schedule i and section 85 of the act
would be companyducive to inconvenience and
complications in the management of some of the
gurdwaras. the companymittee has therefore number
recommended the inclusion of some of the
gurdwaras in schedule i.
the full bench also further stated that the appellant has
number claimed himself to be the owner of the institution
devined and described in item number 249 of the sch. 1 and
therefore has numberlocus standi to claim that the said
institution should have been included in that schedule. it is therefore clear that the question whether gurdwara
pinjore padhshahi pehli was a sikh gurdwara or was an udasi
gurdwara had been determined as early as 1946 by the firman
of the maharaja of patiala. the fact that the appellant
alleges that he was in possession of the gurdwara is of
little moment because if the law vested the management in
the interim gurdwara board the possession of the appellant
could either be permissible or hostile. in either case the
status of the gurdwara as a sikh gurdwara had been
determined before the companystitution and since it was a pre-
constitution law which declared so the appellant cannumber
challenge it on the ground of viola-
tion of his fundamental rights. even if the appellant
continued to be in possession he has. number acquired a right
of management when once that right was vested in anumberher
body. that firman of an erstwhile ruler of a princely state
was law and companytinued to be law till repealed or substituted
by a companypetent legislature has been companycluded by the
decisions of this companyrt in ameerunnissa begum and others v.
mahaboob begum and others 1  and state of rajasthan and
others v. shri sajjanlal panjawat and others.  2  in view of
the legal position an attempt was made to describe the
firman of the maharaja of patiala referred to above as an
administrative order number having the force of law. with this
submission we are unable to agree a glance at the firman
leaves numbermanner of doubt that it vested the management and
possession of the gurdwaras in a body created by it with a
constitution and membership quorum etc. it companyld only be
administrative if the gurdwaras in respect of which the
management was vested were already vested in the state but
that will be fatal to the case of the appellants. the very
fact that pending a companyprehensive law the maharaja was
issuing the firman itself shows that it is a law. the
pleadings clearly raised the question of the locus standi of
the appellant to assert that the gurdwara was number a sikh
gurdwara and it was clearly asserted that the possession of
the appellant was on behalf of the said gurdwara which is
number inconsistent with the fact that the possession and
management of it was vested in the interim gurdwara board. it was companytended by the learned advocate for the appellant
that if the pre-constitution law takes away rights for an
interim period then the rights existed after the interim
period and is subject to the companystitution. but even if this
proposition is admitted and it is number necessary to express
our view the assumption on which it is based is invalid. numberdoubt the maharaja of patiala envisaged a companyprehensive
law to replace his firmans but by that time the state of
patiala was merged and the law embodied by the firmans which
was companytinued to be the law after the merger was replaced by
the amending act which provided for the interim gurdwara
board being in possession and management during the
transition period. in sri jagadguru kari basava
rajendraswami of gavimutt v. companymissioner of hindu religious
charitable endowments hyderabad 3  scheme had been
framed before the companystitution and s. 103 d of the madras
hindu religious and charitable endowments act1951
properly companystrued gave an operative force to the earlier
schemes framed under the madras act 2 of 1973 as though
they were framed under the act 19 of 1951. it was number
intended by this section that those schemes must be examined
and reframed in the light of the relevant provisions of the
act. in these circumstances it was held that although the
scheme in question had number been companypletely implemented
before the companystitution that was numberground for examining
its provision in the light of art. 19 of the companystitution. the fundamental rights companyferred by the companystitution are number
retrospective in operation and the observations made. by
this companyrt in seth shanti sarup v. union of india 4  were
number applicable to that case.  1 1953 s.c.r. 404.  2 1974 1 s.c.r. 500 at p. 511.  3 1964 8 s.c.r. 252.  4  a.i.r. 1955 s.c. 624. 13-l379 sup. ci/75
the companyplaint in the appeals relating to sch. 1 gurdwaras
is that the mere publication of a declaration of a
consolidated list under sub-s.  2  of s. 3 is by virtue of
sub-s.  4  of s. 3 companyclusive proof of the fact that the
application made under sub-s.  1  of s. 3 was in fact made
by a sikh or any present office holder of the gurdwara in
question specified in sch. 1 of the act that the
numberification and the companysolidated list had been published in
the prescribed manner at the headquarters of the district
etc. and the fact that the state government sent by
registered post a numberice of the claim etc. to each of the
persons named in the list as being in possession of any such
right etc. i.e. of the requisites of sub-sections  1   2
and  3  of s. 3. the appellant dharam das further companyplains
that sub-s.  5  of s. 7 bars an inquiry into the fact
whether the persons who made the application under sub-s.
 1  of s. 7 were in fact fifty or more or number whether such
persons were in fact sikh worshippers of the gurdwaras or
number and whether each one of them was more than twenty-one
years of age or number at the relevant time. the publication
of this numberification is to be companyclusive proof of the
compliance with the requirements of sub-ss.  1  to  4  of s.

these provisions have been challenged as offending art. 14 because the impugned presumptions have the effect of
taking away the rights which are available. to the parties
in companytesting their suits under s. 38 thus driving a wedge
of individual discrimination between cases tried under part
i of the act on the one hand and those tried under part ii
of the act  s. 38  on the other that the said presumptions
are pieces of substantive law and number merely rules of
evidence and that the presumptions in question have the
effect of taking away certain defenses which are numbermally
open to a litigant in an ordinary legal proceedings i.e. the plea as to the locus standi of claimant either under sub
section  1  of section 3 or under sub-section  1  of section
7 by pleading and proving that such claimants did number
possess the requisite qualifications entitling them to make
the claim in dispute. these very companytentions were urged
before the high companyrt and negatived by it on a detailed
consideration by reference to the case law. it must number be forgotten that the whole object of the act
was to reduce the chances of protracted litigation in a
matter involving the religious sentiments of a large section
of a sensitive people proud of their heritage. the long
history of the struggle of the sikhs to get back their
religious shrines to which reference has been made in the
sikh historical books make it amply clear that the intensity
of the struggle sacrifice and shedding of blood had made
the government of the day realize that a speedy remedy
should be devised and accordingly the procedures prescribed
in ss. 3 and 7 have been innumberated by the act. the
provision of law which shuts out further enquiry and makes a
numberification in respect of certain preliminary steps
conclusive does number involve the exercise of any judicial
function. it has been so held in municipal board hapur v.
raghuvendra kripal and others 1 . though this case and the
case of izhar ahmad khan and others v. union of india and
others  2   had been cited

a.i.r. 1966 s.c. 693
 2  1962 supp. 3 s.c.r. 235.
before the high companyrt as supporting the companytention that sub-
s.  4  of s. 3 and sub-s.  5  of s. 7 are liable to be
struck down as they are equivalent to an ex-parte judgment
of the legislature given against the petitions on the
relevant point the high companyrt on an examination of this
case held that the ratio supported a companytrary companyclusion. in lzhar ahmed khans case sub-s.  2  of s. 9 of the
citizenship act provided that if any question arises as to
whether when or how any person has acquired the citizenship
of anumberher companyntry it shall be determined by such
authority in such manner and having regard to such rules
of evidence as may be prescribed in that behalf. under the
above provision rule 3 of sch. iii of the citizenship
rules 1956 was framed and it was this rule that was
challenged. the companyrt while up-holding it examined the
question as to when it companyld be said that the companyclusive
presumption prescribed by the statute fell within the ambit
of the rules of evidence and when it companyld number be so said. if rebuttable presumptions are within the domain of the law
of evidence irrebuttable presumptions would also be within
the domain of that branch of the law. even though the rule
provided for a companyclusive presumption the majority held
that it prescribed a rule of evidence. that was a case of a
rule made under a statutory provision but sub-s.  4  of s. 3
and sub-s.  5  of s. 7 of the act are rules of evidence
prescribed by the legislature which is companypetent to provide
for irrebuttable and companyclusive presumptions number only as
mere rules of evidence but even as substantive pieces of law
so long as the relevant provisions are within the
legislative companypetence of the legislature and are number
otherwise unconstitutional. in municipal board hapurs case also the majority decision
of this companyrt held that when a legislature says that an
enquiry into the truth or otherwise of a fact shall stop at
a given stage and that fact is taken to be companyclusively
proved numberquestion of discrimination would arise. in fact
that case specifically held that the provisions of law which
shuts out further enquiry and makes a numberification in
respect of certain preliminary steps companyclusive does number
involve the exercise of any judicial function. it was
pointed out that the evidence act is full of such fictions. 1n fact under sub-s.  2  of s. 3 of the act it is on the
receipt of a list duly forwarded under the provisions of
subsection  1  that the state government is expected to
publish a numberification the publication of which is made a
conclusive proof of certain facts by sub-s.  4  of s. 3. as
pointed out by the high companyrt the use of the expression
duly forwarded in relation to an application under sub-s.
 1  of s. 3 shows that the state government is expected to
satisfy itself before the issue of a numberification under sub-
s.  2  of s. 3 that the application in question is a proper
application under sub-s.  1  and has been duly forwarded
which implies that the application. has been made by a sikh
or by the present office-holder of a gurdwara specified in
sch. 1 and that in effect it has fulfilled the requirements
of sub-s.  1  of s. 3. we are in. agreement with this
conclusion of the high companyrt for the reasons given by it
that the provisions of sub-s.  4  of s. 3 and sub-s.  5  of
s. 7 do number suffer from any companystitutional or other legal
impediment. it was however pointed out by the high companyrt that the
above plea was number taken in any of the writ petitions except
that in the petition filed by dharam das. there seems to have been a divergence of opinion in the
punjab haryana high companyrt in respect of personal numberice to
be served under sub-s.  4  of s. 7 and even though it was
served subsequent to the numberification under sub-s.  5  of s.
7 it was numberetheless determined by the rule of companyclusive
proof. but as the full bench of the high companyrt explained
and we companycur with that explanation once the provision of
conclusive presumption under sub-s.  5  of s. 7 was held to
be valid and companystitutional that question companyld number be
allowed to be agitated or rebutted as that would militate
against the companyclusive nature of the statutory presumption. number having regard to the object of the act can that
provision be companysidered to be unreasonable as these are only
preliminary steps necessary for holding an enquiry which
enquiry forms an essential part to the determination of the
lis. to take advantage of preliminary steps to protract
litigation is itself unreasonable. the presumption that the
authorities enjoined by the act to take certain steps will
do so has been an irrebuttable presumption and if that does
number affect substantial justice being done between the
parties to the lis numberquestion of unreasonableness will
arise. it may also be pointed out that before us it was
contended that numbernumberice was served on bhag singh. the
respondents advocate however wanted to produce the numberice
on which bhag singh had signed in token of his having
received it but that is a matter which we cannumber entertain
in this appeal. it is also argued in dharam dass case that the right
conferred by s. 8 of the act on any hereditary office-holder
confers that right only on a person who companyld trace big
office as a hereditary officeholder from an unbroken line of
gurus to chela and if there is any hiatus in that such as
for instance the death of a guru before he numberinates his
chela or where a guru marries and is disqualified- and
anumberher person is. appointed as a mahant that person is number
given the right to challenge the numberification under sub-s.
 3  of s. 7. this companytention in our view is unjustified
for the simple reason that hereditary office has been
defined in clause  iv  of sub-s.  4  of s. 2 as meaning an
office the succession to which before the first day of
january 1920 or in the case of the extended
territories before the 1st day of numberember 1956 as the
case may be devolved according to hereditary right or by
numberination by the office-holder for the time being and
hereditary office-holder means the holder of a hereditary
office. if a hereditary office-holder within the meaning of
clause  iv  of s. 2 4  cannumber be found then s. 8 provides
for a challenge to the numberification under sub-s.  3  of s. 7
by any twenty or more worshippers of the gurdwara each of
whom is more than twenty-one years of age and was on the
commencement of the act a resident of a police station area
in which the gurdwara is situated. surely if as is
contended the bhekh of a sampradaya is entitled to numberinate
a successor where a mahant companyld number numberinate his succes-
18 1
sor we presume that the bhekh will have more than twenty
worshippers who companyld challenge the numberification. we cannumber
assume that the bhekh which numberinated the mahant would be of
less than twenty worshippers. if it had lesser number of
worshippers than 20 it companyld hardly be called a bhekh. there is in our view numberhing unreasonable or
discriminatory in this provision. as to whether a person is
a hereditary office-holder at the time of the presentation
of the petition under sec. 8 will always be a case for the
tribunal to determine having regard to well-established
rules of evidence by which companyrts determine these matters. the assumption that if there is a break before 100 years of
a succession between a guru and chela the present incumbent
will number be companysidered as a hereditary office-holder is
purely hypothetical and this companyrt will number venture to
express its view on such an assumption. it is for the
tribunal to apply the law for determining as to whether the
person who challenges the numberification is a hereditary
office-holder and has locus standi to do so. in civil- appeal number 1222 of 1969 the filing of the petition
within ninety days prescribed under s. 8 is challenged as
unreasonable. the period of limitation is by its very
nature to some extent arbitrary but it has never been urged
that the period prescribed in the limitation act is
violative of art. 14 of the companystitution number if such a
position is taken can it be sustained. if is an elementary
principle of justice that a person having a right should number
sleep over it and must companye forward as quickly as possible. the companytingency that if a mahant dies within a period of 90
days after the publication of the numberification under sub-s.
 3  of s. 7 without numberinating his successor there would be
numbertime for the bhekh to numberinate the successor to the
office or for the bhekh to call a meeting to elect a
successor of properties attached to the gurdwara was
forwarded a declaration do number make the provision invalid. ninety days is sufficient time for twenty or more
worshippers to get together to challenge the numberification
which is designed to declare the gurdwara in which they are
worshipping to be a sikh gurdwara and which offends their
belief and worship. in our view there is numbersubstance in any of the appeals
filed before us. we agree with the companyclusion arrived at by
the full beach of the punjab haryana high companyrt and
dismiss all these appeals but in the circumstances without
costs. khanna j.-the short question which arises in civil appeal
number 1251 of 1969 is whether section 3 4  of the silkh
gurdwaras act 1925  hereinafter referred to as the act  is
violative of the appellants fundamental rights under
article 19 1  f  and article 26 of the companystitution. gurdwara sahib panjore pahli patshahi situate in panjore
is entered at item number 249 in the first schedule to the act. after a list of properties attached to the gurdwara was
forwarded a declaration was issued under section 3 2  of
the act on may 24 1960 that the
above mentioned gurdwara was a sikh gurdwara. by a separate
a numberification a companysolidated list of rights title and
interest claimed to belong to the gurdwara was also
published. in reply to a numberice issued to him lachhman
dass appellant in civil appeal number 1251 of 1969 filed
petition under section 5 of the act claiming rights and in-
terest in the above mentioned property. the appellants
petition was forwarded to the sikh gurdwara tribunal. in
the companyrse of the proceedings before it the tribunal
declined to frame an issue whether the gurdwara in question
was a sikh gurdwara in view of section 3 4  of the act. the
appellant then submitted an application for amending his
petition so as to assert that the provisions of the act were
violative of his fundamental rights. the application of the
appellant was rejected by the tribunal on the ground that it
was number germane to the inquiry. the appellant thereupon
filed a writ petition in the high companyrt under article 226 of
the companystitution on the allegation that he was an udasi
faqir and that the shrine in question was an udasi insti-
tution and number a sikh gurdwara. he prayed that a number of
provisions of the act might be declared to be violative of
the appellants rights under the companystitution. the petition
was resisted by the state of punjab and the shiromani
gurudwara parbandhak companymittee  sgpc . the petition was
ultimately decided by a full bench and the companytentions of
the petitioner were rejected by the majority. the companytention which has been advanced by mr. tarkunde on
behalf of lachhman das appellant is that section 3 4  of the
act is violative of the appellants fundamental rights under
article 19 1  f  and article 26 of the companystitution. section 3 4  reads as under

the publication of a declaration and of
a companysolidated list under the provisions of
sub-section  2  shall be companyclusive proof that
the provisions of sub-sections  1   2 - and
 3  with respect to such publication have been
duly companyplied with and that the gurdwara is a
sikh gurdwara and the provisions of part iii
shall apply to such gurdwara with effect from
the date of the publication of the
numberification declaring it to be a sikh
gurdwara. it is urged that the companyclusive nature of the declaration
under the above provision operates as a denial of
opportunity to the appellant to prove that the institution
in question is an udasi institution and number a sikh
institution and as such amounts to an unreasonable
restriction on the appellants rights under article
19 1  f  and article 26.
at the hearing of the appeal learned companynsel for the state
of punjab as well as for that of sgpc have stated that it is
permissible to make a claim that the property mentioned in
the second numberification under section 3 2  including the
property described to be the gurdwara itself in respect of
item number 249 in the first schedule belongs to an udasi
institution. it is plain that if the above stand taken on behalf of the
respondents were to be accepted the basis of the grievance
of the appellant that there is denial of opportunity to him
to establish his claim that
the institution in question is an udasi institution would
disappear. it is also obvious that if the interpretation
sought to be placed upon section 3 of the act by the learned
counsel for the respondents were accepted section 3 4
would number be violative of the appellants rights under
article 19 1  f  and article 26.
mr. v. s. desai on behalf of the state of punjab and mr.
patel on behalf of sgpc point out that the above
interpretation of section 3 is in companysonance with the view
taken by companydstream j. who was the president. of the sikh
gurdwara tribunal in his order dated january 29 1929
relating to gurdwara rupar mentioned at sl. number 233 of the
first schedule to the act as well as a division bench
consisting of broadway and harrison jj. of lahore high companyrt
in the case of  mahant  davinder singh v. shromani gurdwara
parbandhak companymittee anr.  1  companydstream j. observed in his
order
the sub-section itself certainly does number
expressly authorise the local government to
decide what building is referred to in the
schedule number take away from the tribunal
jurisdiction to decide this question. the
gurudwara itself is clearly one of the
properties to be claimed on behalf of the
gurudwara under section 3 1 . petitions
contesting these claims are sent to the
tribunal under section 14 and it is for the
tribunal to decide what part of the property
if any is the gurdwara itself in which no
right title or interest can be claimed as
private property. the division bench observed in the case of
 mahant  davinder singh as under
the question therefore is narrowed down to
this can the companyrectness of the numberification
under section 5 3  be challenged and if so
can any individual or religious body claim any
portion of the area described as a gurudwara
by the sgpc and if it can claim any portion
can it claim the whole ? the answer to the first portion is i think
that so far as the numberification under section
5 deals with claims to gurdwaras it is
meaningless inasmuch as there can be numbersuch
claim. the test is number whether a man admits
that there is a gurdwara or number but whether he
claims the gurdwara as such e.g. supposing
there be a dispute between two sets or
branches of sikhs they cannumber put in rival
claims to the gurdwara as a sikh gurdwara. any body may put in a claim provided h
e avoids
describing it as a claim to a gurdwara. he
may claim in other words that what the sgpc
or any other religious body declares to be a
sikh gurdwara form part of his private
property or a part of the endowment of any
institution. this is the view clearly taken
by the officials responsible for the
numberification when they excluded h  a companyner
of the property had been marked h in the
plan annexed to the government numberification
under section 3 2  of the act. a.i.r. 1929 lahore 603.
number if he can claim a portion is there any
reason why he cannumber claim the whole? the
test suggested by mr. petman is impossible and
unworkable and inasmuch as government has number
seen fit to lay down that the schedule is
conclusive proof that there is a gurdwara at
each of the places entered therein or that a
gurdwara is a place numberified as such there is
numberreason in my opinion why any individual
should number companye forward and. claim the whole
area described and defined in the
numberification provided always that he abstains
from using the word gurdwara as describing
and forming the subject-matter of his claim. narula j.  as he then was  speaking for the majority of the
full bench in the judgment under appeal relied upon the
above observations and added
the judgment of the division bench of the
lahore high companyrt clearly supports the view
that though section 5 1  bars any claim in
respect of the gurdwara itself every inch of
the land and every part of the building of
what may be described and claimed as the
physical gurdwara. can be the subject-matter
of a claim under section 5  1   and of adjudi-
cation by the tribunal. this also shows that
the word gurdwara as used in section 5 1
was understood by the lahore high companyrt to be
an institution as distinguished from the
physical building popularly called the
gurdwara. there is a presumption of the companystitutional validity of a
statutory provision. if a provision like section 3 4  of the
act of a local enactment has been on the statute book for
about half a century and a particular companystruction has been
placed upon it by the high companyrt of the state which sustains
the companystitutional validity of the provision this companyrt in
my opinion should lean in favour of the view as would
sustain the validity of the provision and number disturb the
construction which has been accepted for such a length of
time. reference in this companytext may be made to the case of raj
narain pandey ors. v. sant prasad tewari ors.  1  wherein
this companyrt observed
in the matter of the interpretation of a
local statute the view taken by the high
court over a number of years should numbermally
be adhered to and number disturbed. a different
view would number only introduce an element of
uncertainty and companyfusion it would also have
the effect of unsettling transactions which
might have been entered into on the faith of
those decision the doctrine of stare
decision can be aptly invoked in such a
situation. as observed by lord evershed m. r.
in the case of brownsea haven properties v.
poole companypn.  1958  ch 574 there is well
established authority for the view that a
decision of long standing on the basis of
which

a.i.r. 1973 s.c. 291.
many persons will in the companyrse of time have
arranged their affairs should number lightly be
disturbed by a superior companyrt number strictly
bound itself by the decision. i would therefore hold that section 3 4  is number violative
of the appellants rights under article 19 1  f  and article
26.
question has been raised about the locus standi of the
appellant to file petition under article 226 of the
constitution before the high companyrt. in this respect i find
that in the numberice issued under subsection  3  of section 3
of the act the appellant was mentioned to be in possession
of the property in dispute. the appellant made a claim
about the property in dispute and the same is pending before
the tribunal. during the pendency of the proceedings before
the tribunal the appellant wanted to agitate the question
that the property in dispute was an udasi institution and
number a sikh gurdwara. the tribunal declined in view of
section 3 4  of the act to frame an issue on the question
as to whether the gurdwara in question was a sikh gurdwara. according to the appellant the denial of opportunity to him
that the property in dispute was an udasi institution and
number a sikh gurdwara was violative of his fundamental rights. these facts in my opinion were sufficient to clothe the
appellant with a right to me the petition before the high
court. whether the appellant would ultimately succeed in
establishing his claim would be a matter for the tribunal to
adjudicate upon. the question as to what would be the
effect of the different firmans on the rights of the
appellant relates to the merits of his claim and the same
can be gone into only in the proceedings before the tribunal
and number in writ proceedings before the high companyrt number in
appeal in this companyrt against the judgment of the high companyrt
dismissing the writ petition. so far as the other two appeals are companycerned they relate
to properties about which numberification has been issued under
section 7 of the act.