IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.15271 of 2021

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Shankar Kumar Das Son of Late Shiv Narayan Das, Resident of Village -

Haribanshpur, Post - Chhatrahar, P.S.- Shambhuganj, District- Banka.

... ... Petitioner

Versus

1.

The State of Bihar through the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar, Patna.

2.

The Bihar State Board of Religious Trust, Vidyapati Marg, Patna through its

Chairman.

3.

The Chairman, Bihar State Board of Religious Trust.

... ... Respondents

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Appearance :

For the Petitioner

:

Mr. P.N.Shahi, Senior Advocate

Mr. Alok Kumar @ Alok Kr Shahi, Advocate

Mr. Ranjan Kumar Jha, Advocate

Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Mishra, Advocate

For the Respondents

:

Mr. Ganpati Trivedi, Senior Advocate

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHAKRADHARI SHARAN

SINGH

and

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MADHURESH PRASAD

ORAL ORDER

(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHAKRADHARI SHARAN

SINGH)

6

25-04-2022

The petitioner claims to be one of the heirs of the

original founder of the temple late Harballabh Das. He has put

to challenge a notification dated 26.03.2021 issued by the Bihar

State Board of Religious Trust under the signature of the

President of the Board, whereby a scheme has been settled in

exercise of the power under Section 32 of the Bihar Hindu

Religious Trust Act, 1950, for proper administration of the said

trust.

Mr. Pushkar Narain Shahi, learned Senior Counsel

appearing on behalf of the petitioner has drawn the Court’s

Patna High Court CWJC No.15271 of 2021(6) dt.25-04-2022

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attention to the observation made in the said notification to the

effect that the Board has maintained a tradition of not including

more than one member of the same family in the trust

committee. He contends that during the course of settlement of

scheme under Section 32 of the Act, deviating from the said

long standing tradition, two full brothers of the same family

have been included in the trust committee. He has further

submitted that though animal sacrifice is a traditionally accepted

ritual in the temple, the notification has erroneously mentioned,

without any basis that it being a Hindu Religious Temple, no

such ritual is permissible in the premises in question. He has

accordingly submitted that because of the said observation in

the notification in relation to the ritual of animal sacrifice, the

devotees are being restrained from performing the said ritual.

On the question of constitution of the trust committee,

Mr. Shahi, learned Senior Counsel, has not been able to point

out breach of any statutory provision inasmuch as it has not

been demonstrated before this Court that more than one member

of the same family cannot be nominated as members of the

committee. In such view of the matter, the impugned

notification does not require interference on the said ground.

So far as the second aspect relating to religious

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practice of animal sacrifice is concerned, there is no pleading in

the writ petition that any person has been in fact stopped from

performing the said ritual.

In such view of the matter, without interfering with

the impugned notification, this writ application is disposed of

with a liberty to the petitioner to approach appropriate forum if

any situation in future so warrants on the point of animal

sacrifice, which, according to him, is an important ritual in the

concerned temple.

This application stands disposed of accordingly, with

the aforesaid observation.

Pawan/-

(Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J)

(Madhuresh Prasad, J)

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