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2004 Supreme(All) 457

2004 (3) AWC 1936
(ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT)
S. N. Srivastava, J.
C.M.W.P. No. 6981 of 2004
Decided on March 5, 2004
Keshav Deo Sharma and another
Versus
Secretary, Sri Nand Raiji Maharaj, Nand Kila Gokul Mandir Samiti, Mathura and others

Advocates:
Counsel for the Petitioners: R. K. Jain and Rahul Jain.
Counsel for the Respondents: S.C.

The main legal point established in the judgment is that resignations under the Constitution of the Trust did not require acceptance and were effective from the date they reached the President.

Headnote:

resignation - Temple Dispute - Section 92, C.P.C. - [Section 92, C.P.C.] - The court discussed the legal provisions related to resignation under the Constitution of the Trust, the requirement of approval or acceptance of resignation, and the effectiveness of resignation from the date it reached the President. The court also analyzed various precedents to determine the unilateral or bilateral nature of resignation and its withdrawal. The judgment emphasized that the resignation did not require acceptance as per the Constitution of the Trust and was effective from the date it reached the President.

Fact of the Case:

The dispute revolved around the resignations submitted by 7 elected members of a Temple Committee. The District Judge directed fresh elections for the vacant positions, which was challenged by the elected President of the Temple.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the resignations did not require approval by the Committee or the President and were effective from the date they reached the President. It held that the elected President was not vested with the power to accept resignations before they could be acted upon.

Issues: The issues involved the validity of the resignations, the requirement of approval, and the effectiveness of the resignations from the date they reached the President.

Ratio Decidendi: The court determined that the resignations did not require acceptance as per the Constitution of the Trust and were effective from the date they reached the President. It emphasized that the elected President was not an authority vested with the power to accept resignations before they could be acted upon.

Final Decision: The petition was dismissed as bereft of merit, and the stay order was vacated.

JUDGMENT

S. N. Srivastava, J.—Order of District Judge Mathura passed under Section 92, C.P.C. has been taken in challenge in this Court by means of the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by Sri Keshav Deo Sharma who is elected President of the Temple known as Sri Nand Rai Ji Maharaj, Nand Kila, Gokul Mandir Samiti, Gokul District Mathura. The dispute in the instant petition revolves round ‘resignations’ submitted by 7 elected members in the election held on 17.5.2002.

2. The affairs of the Temple known as Sri Nand Rai Ji Maharaj Nand Kila Gokul Mandir Samiti, Gokul District Mathura and five other temples dovetailed to it are managed by the Committee under the scheme prepared under Section 92, C.P.C. In accordance with it, election was held on 17.5.2002 in which 15 member were declared elected. It would transpire from the record that subsequently, 7 members so elected tendered their resignation on 21.5.2002 to the District Judge Mathura inasmuch as by that time, President had not been elected to head the Trust. On 22.5.2002 election of office bearers took place in which Keshav Deo Sharma was elected as President and Nand Kishore as Secretary. On President being elected, District Judge Mathura, transmitted resignations of all the seven members to the elected President. It would also appear that election of office bearers was given approbation by the District Judge on 23.5.2002. It is also evident from the averments in the writ petition that in the meeting held on 22.6.2002 headed by Secretary of the Committee, the resignations of all the seven members were accepted and nomination of one members was proposed and papers relating thereto were submitted to the District Judge

for approval by the Secretary of the Committee. The newly elected President petitioner No. 1 did not give approbation to the proposed nomination by the Committee on the ground that no meeting had in fact been convened on 22.6.2002 and that the nomination of seven members was highly illegal. One of the ground assigned in the objection was that resignation submitted by seven members had been withdrawn on 25.11.2002 and as such since there was no vacancy, no nomination could be proposed by the Committee headed by Secretary. The District Judge, Mathura in turn held by means of order dated 28.1.2004 that vacancy had occurred due to resignation of seven members. The District Judge however did not lend approval to the nomination proposed and directed Dr. Mukesh Nath Samadhia District Government Counsel (Crl.), Election Officer, to commence fresh proceeding for election of seven members for the rest of the period of the Committee. It is in the above backdrop that the petitioner who is the elected President, has assailed the impugned order of the District Judge, Mathura.

3. I have heard Sri R. K. Jain senior advocate, assisted by Rahul Jain for the petitioner. The learned counsel for the petitioner premised his submission by stating that resignation was not given by seven members to proper authority, i.e., the President who is competent under the Constitution. He further canvassed that resignations so submitted required approval by the Committee of Management, which was not done in the instant case. He further canvassed that before the resignation could be acted upon all the seven members had withdrawn their resignation and by this reckoning, no vacancy was there and the order passed by the District Judge under Section 92 directing to hold fresh election in relation to 7 vacancies on posts of members, is impaired in law. The learned counsel drew attention to para 6 of the Constitution of the Trust the substance of which is that any office bearers or member could submit resignation by written information and since resignation had not been submitted to the President but was addressed to the District Judge, it could not have been treated to be valid resignation. It was further urged that before being acted upon the resignation had been withd


















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