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PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
G.R.Majithia and Harmohinder Kaur Sandhu JJ.
Mahant Mela Ram Chela Mahant Inder Dass
Versus
Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar
First Appeal from the Order No. 155 of 1974,
Decided On : JANUARY 8, 1992
SIKH GURUDWARAS ACT, 1925 - SECTION 3(4), 5(1), 7(5) - GURU GRANTH SAHIB - UDASI DERA - BUILDING - OWNERSHIP - DISPUTE - TRIBUNAL'S DECISION - APPEAL - HELD, BUILDING OF DERA BABA DAN DASS IS NOT GURUDWARA SAHIB DERA PATTI SUJJA - APPEAL ALLOWED.
Fact of the Case:
A dispute arose regarding the ownership of a building, agricultural land, and Muafi (revenue-free land) in village Sanghera, Patti Sujja. The appellant, Mahant Mela Ram, claimed that the properties belonged to Dera Baba Dan Dass, an Udasi Dera, while the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (Committee) asserted that they belonged to Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja, a Sikh Gurdwara. The Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal, Punjab, Chandigarh (Tribunal) held that the agricultural land and Muafi belonged to the Dera, but the building was part of the Gurdwara. The appellant challenged this decision in the present appeal.
Finding of the Court:
The court examined the evidence presented by both parties, including witness testimonies, documentary evidence, and an inspection note of the disputed institution. It found that the building in question was used for residential purposes, had no Parkash (ceremonial opening) of Guru Granth Sahib, and lacked other characteristics of a Sikh Gurdwara. The court also noted that the Mahants of the Dera had always been Udasis, a different religious sect from Sikhs.
Issues: 1. Whether the building in dispute is Dera Baba Dan Dass or Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja? 2. Whether the agricultural land and Muafi belong to the Dera or the Gurdwara?
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the building in dispute was not Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja but Dera Baba Dan Dass. It relied on the following factors: * The building lacked the characteristics of a Sikh Gurdwara, such as the Parkash of Guru Granth Sahib. * The Mahants of the Dera had always been Udasis, not Sikhs. * The evidence suggested that the building was used for residential purposes and not for religious worship. The court also upheld the Tribunal's finding that the agricultural land and Muafi belonged to the Dera.
Final Decision: The court allowed the appeal, set aside the Tribunal's decision regarding the ownership of the building, and held that the building, along with the agricultural land and Muafi, belonged to Dera Baba Dan Dass.
G.R.MAJITHIA, J.
1. This appeal is directed against the decision of the Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal, Punjab, Chandigarh, dated 12/04/1974, holding that the agricultural land measuring 475 Bighas 19 Biswas situate in village Sanghera, Patti Sujja and the Muafi of Rs. 114/3.00 belong to and vest in the institution known as "Dera Baba Dan Dass", but the building situate in Patti Sujja of village Sanghera, Tehsil Barnala, District Sangrur is the property of the notified Sikh Gurdwara "Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja" mentioned at Serial No. 337 of Schedule I of Sikh Gurudwaras Act, 1925.
2. Facts first:-
On the publication of a consolidated list under Sec. 3(2) of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 (the Act, for short), late Mahant Mela Ram filed a petition under Sec. 5 of the Act claiming that the properties mentioned in the consolidated list and the building allegedly belonging to the Gurdwara known as "Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja" belong to and possessed by Dera Baba Dan Dass (for short, the Dera). This petition was, in due course, forwarded by the State Government to the Sikh Gurdwaras Tribunal, Punjab Chandigarh (for short, the Tribunal) for adjudication. In the petition under Sec. 5(1), it was stated that the building allegedly belonging to the Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja did not belong to the said Gurdwara but is a building of the Dera, which is an Udasi Dera of religious and charitable nature of which the appellant late Mahant Mela Ram was the Mahant; that the Dera was founded and established by Mahant Baba Dan Dass, a pious and religious person of Udasi Beikh; that he remained in possession of the Dera throughout his life and after his death the building of the Dera remained in possession of successor Mahants; that Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja has no right title or interest in it, nor the disputed building is the building of the said Gurudwara; that the site plan appended to the notification is wrong; that no building of this shape, boundaries or construction can be found in the said village; that Guru Granth Sahib is never opened ceremoniously in the building; that Samadhis of the founder Mahant and his successors and Bhandara exist in the building; that photos of Baba Siri Chand and Shri Vishnu Bhagwan are worshipped therein; that the land situate in village Sanghera Patti Sujja mentioned in the title of the petition at item No. 2 is owned and possessed by the Dera ; that the land was originally gifted to Baba Dan Dass and other successor Mahants and was later on mutated in favour of the Dera by the donors; that the said Gurdwara has no right, title or interest in the property; that Muafi of Rs. l14/3/0 mentioned at item No. 3 in the title of the petition was granted to Mahant Dan Dass Fakir Udasi who founded the Dera at village Sanghera, Patti Sujja and after his death, the Muafi was sanctioned throughout in the name of the Dera through the successor Mahants.
3 Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee, Amritsar, (for short, the committee) was added as respondent to the petition under Sec. 5(1) of the Act. In the written statement filed on behalf of the Committee, it maintained that Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja is a Sikh Gurdwara and the petitioner cannot object that this Gurdwara is Dera Baba Dan Dass which is an Udasi Dera and is not a Sikh Gurdwara; that the property viz. land and the Muafi belongs to Gurdwara Sahib Dera Patti Sujja; that it may be called Dera Baba Dan Dass by the people because Baba Dan Dass was one of the Mahants but the story of the gift of land to him was wrong; that the lands and the Muafi belong to the institution which is managed by its office-holder (Mahant Mela Ram); that the lands and the Muafi are not petitioners private properties but form part of the property of the institution which is entered in the revenue record as property of the Gurdwara on the pleadings of the parties, following issues were framed by the Tribunal on 6/12/1962:-
1. What right, title or interest, if any,
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