JUDGMENT

SARKARIA, J.:—The appellants are Societies and Associations registered under the Registration of Societies Act (21 of 1860). The objects and purposes of these associations as set out in their memoranda of association included inter alia to provide for and improve the religious and social association commerce, trade and educational need of the "Arya Vyasa"; "to provide free food and education for Arya Vyasa boys and girls" etc. The appellants are maintaining various institutions pursuant to those objects. The Endowment Department of the State, included the various institutions of the appellants in the List of Religious Institutions published under Section 6 (c) (ii) of the Andhra Pradesh Act 17 of 1966 calling upon them to have the institutions or temples registered under Section 38 of the said Act. The appellants along with others filed writ petitions in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the validity of the notices issued by the Endowment Department on the ground that Sections 15, 17, 27, 36 and 97 of the Andhra Act 17 of 1966 were violative of Arts. 14, 19 (1) (f), 25, 26 and 31 of the Constitution.

2. The questions for consideration, as formulated by the High Court in that batch of 102 writ petitions were as under:

"1. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances, the office of hereditary trusteeship of the petitioners is, or is not property within the meaning of Arts. 19 (1) (f) and 31 of the Constitution?

2. Whether all or any of the material provisions of the Act offend Arts. 14, 19 (1) (f), 25, 26 and 31 of the Constitution of India?

3. Whether the Act is applicable to all or any of the petitioners who claim to be private institutions or religious denominations or societies registered under the Societies Registration Act?

4. Whether the institutions or endowments of the petitioners are private or public in character?

5. Whether the Arya Vyasa community or Lingayat community and the institutions in question founded by them are religious denominations within the meaning of Art. 26?"

3. On the first question, the High Court was of the view that the office of the hereditary trusteeship was Property within the meaning of Art. 19 (1) (f). Regarding the second question it held that none of the impugned provisions were violative of Arts. 14, 19 (1) (f), 25, 26 and 31 of the Constitution. The High Court, however, did not decide the question as to whether the petitioner-Arya Vyasa is or is not a religious denomination or any section thereof within the meaning of Article 26 of the Constitution. In regard to questions 3 and 5, it observed;

"Likewise, whether a particular religious or charitable institution is or is not a religious denomination or any section thereof within the meaning of Article 26 of the Constitution, is also a question of fact or, in any event, a mixed question of fact and law which can be more satisfactorily and effectively adjudicated upon in a competent civil court. Whether the Vyasa and Lingayat Communities and the institutions, religious or Charitable, founded by the members of those communities are religious denominations or not, are questions which 477 should be determined in a proper forum. Resort to the writ remedy in the first instance is inappropriate and misconceived. The petitioners who claim that their institutions are religious denominations are at liberty to establish the same in a competent civil court."

4. In the result, the High Court dismissed all the writ petitions. Some of the writ-petitioners appealed to this Court on certificate. Their appeals were dismissed on December 2, 1970 by a Bench of five learned Judges. That decision is reported under the cause title, Kakinada Annadana Samajam v. Commr. of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Hyderabad, (1972) 2 SCR 878 = (AIR 1971 SC 891).

5. In the earlier batch of appeals, this Court, also left questions 3 and 5 undecided leaving the appellants at liberty to agitate the same in a proper forum.

6. Now in this second batch of appe