Judgement

Appeal (No. 91 of 1938) from a decree of the High Court (January 26, 1938) which had affirmed a decree of the District Judge, Lahore (May 25, 1936).

A structure which had been built as a mosque in Lahore was dedicated in A.D. 1722, but from about 1762 the building and adjacent land had been in the occupation and possession of the Sikhs. In 1849, at the time of the British annexation, the mosque building and the property which had been dedicated therewith were in the possession of certain Sikhs, Mahants of a Sikh shrine (gurdwara), and the mosque building was used by the custodians of the Sikh institution. In 1927, by notification made pursuant to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act (Punjab Act VIII. of 1925), the old mosque building and land adjacent thereto were included as belonging to the Sikh gurdwara. Litigation was brought before the Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal in 1928 "on "behalf of the Mohammedans,’ who claimed that the land and property were dedicated for a mosque and did not belong to the gurdwara. The Tribunal held that the claim failed by reason of adverse possession and previous decisions, and in the result the property and building were given into the custody of the defendan