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1987 Supreme(All) 151
HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
B.D. AGARWAL, S.K. MUKHERJEE, JJ.
Muzaffar Husain - Appellant
Versus
Assistant Registrar, Firms, Societies And Chits - Respondent
Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 16110 of 1985
Decided on : Mar 13, 1987
Sudhir Chandra, Sartaz Ahmad
The Registrar must refer the matter to the State Government under Section 3-B of the Act where there is a specific objection raised that the proposal travels outside the purview of Sections 1 and 20 of the Act.
Headnote:
SOCIETIES REGISTRATION ACT - REGISTRATION OF SOCIETY - RELIGIOUS PURPOSE - JURISDICTION OF REGISTRAR - REFERRAL TO STATE GOVERNMENT - U. P. MUSLIM WAQFS ACT, 1960 - SUPERINTENDENCE, MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WAQF PROPERTY - CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Fact of the Case:
The Madarsa-Mazahir-Uloom, Saharanpur, an ancient institution founded in 1966, applied for registration as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Objections were raised on grounds that the society was religious in character and could not be registered, and that there was dedication to God and no inter-meddling with the management or otherwise. The Assistant Registrar registered the society despite the objections.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the Assistant Registrar lacked jurisdiction to register the society without referring the matter to the State Government under Section 3-B of the Act. The Court also held that the objects of the society, even if religious, were charitable and could be registered under the Act. However, the Court left it to the State Government to decide whether the registration of the society would conflict with the provisions of the U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act, 1960.
Issues: 1. Whether the Assistant Registrar had jurisdiction to register the society without referring the matter to the State Government under Section 3-B of the Act. 2. Whether the objects of the society, even if religious, were charitable and could be registered under the Act. 3. Whether the registration of the society would conflict with the provisions of the U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act, 1960.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that Section 3-B of the Act is a proviso to Sections 3 and 3-A, and that the Registrar must refer the matter to the State Government where there is a specific objection raised that the proposal travels outside the purview of Sections 1 and 20 of the Act. 2. The Court held that the objects of the society, even if religious, were charitable and could be registered under the Act. The Court relied on the fact that the society provided free education about Islamic teachings and maintained a library with a good collection of books on different religious and various languages. 3. The Court left it to the State Government to decide whether the registration of the society would conflict with the provisions of the U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act, 1960.
Final Decision: The Court quashed the order of the Assistant Registrar registering the society and directed the Assistant Registrar to refer the matter to the State Government under Section 3-B of the Act. The Court also directed the State Government to record its decision on the subject within three months after hearing the parties. The Court further directed the respondent not to interfere with the functioning of the Nazim, the petitioner, pending the decision of the State Government.
B. D. Agarwal, J. -
1. Madarsa-Mazahir-Uloom, Saharanpur, (hereinafter referred to as the MADARSA) is an ancient institution founded in the year 1966. The Head of the Institution is known as the Nazim. The governing body is the Majlise-Shura. There are various properties under waqfs dedicated to the Almighty and attached to the MADARSA. The Nazim is also the Mutawalli under the waqfs which are registered with the U. P. Sunni Central Board of Waqfs.
2. On 29th March, 1985, the respondent nos. 2 to 8 applied under Section 3 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (Act 21 of 1860) (as amended) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for registration of the society designated as the Madarsa-Mazahir-Uloom, Saharanpur. The Memorandum and the Article of Association submitted are Annexures 3 and 4 to the writ petition respectively. The objects of the Society specified in the Memorandum, as transliterated into English, with the aid of counsel for the parties are :-
(A) Providing free education about the teachings of Islam through Arabic language that is Holi Quran, Commentry of Quarn and Hadish, Islamic Jurisprudence, Islamic faith and preachings to all the Muslims of the world and also to promote the teachings of Prophet Mohammad. (B) Other branches of knowledges, Arts etc. such as are necessary for the advancement of Arabic Language and religious purposes and imparting free formal requisite knowledge of Persian, Urdu and other languages and for achieving the aims and objects of the Madarsa establishing a library."
Objections were raised by the petitioners and others to the aforementioned application on grounds principally that the soeiety is religious in character and could not be registered and also that there being dedication to God there could be no inter-meddling with the same in its management or otherwise. The Assistant Registrar, Firms, Society and Chits, U. P. has nonetheless registered the Society on 18th October, 1985.
3. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioners filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution on 29th October, 1985, seeking the writ of certiorari to quash the order for registration dated 18th October, 1985, and the certificate issued in pursuance thereof dated 19th October, 1985, and also writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents not to interfere with the functioning of the petitioner no. 1 as the Nazim.
4. The contentions raised by Sri Sudhir Chandra, counsel for the petitioners, are :
(i) The registration directed by the Assistant Registrar is ultra vires his powers keeping in view section 3-B of the Act ;
(ii) the objects, and, in any case, one of the objects being religious, the society could not be registered, vide section 3 (2) (c) ;
(iii) the provisions contained in the U. P. Muslim Waqfs Act, 1960, are self-contained in regard to the superintendence, management and control of waqf property and there could not be imposition over the same of the Society.
Sri S. P. Gupta, learned counsel for the respondents, sought to defend the registration with the submissions :
(i) the objects of the Soeiety even if religious are charitable none-the- less ;
(ii) the management by the Society over the affairs of the Madarsa will not be in conflict with the control of the Sunni Board over the waqfs ;
(iii) There is no bar arising under section 3-B in view of what is provided under section 3 (2) (c) of the Act.
5. A brief reference to the relevant provisions of the Act is apposite. The Act in its Preamble states its object as improving the condition of societies established for the promotion of literature, science, or the fine arts or for the diffusion of useful knowledge, the diffusion of political education, or for charitable purposes. Section 1 enacts that the Societies which may be registered are those which are formed for any literary, scientific, or charitable purpose, or for any such purpose as is described in section 20. In Section 20 we find these some purposes enumerat
