Judgment

SIKRI, J.: This appeal by certificate granted by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay is directed against its judgment and decree dated December 30, l962, whereby it set aside the order made by the Assistant Charity Commissioner, dated August 19,1955, as confirmed by the Deputy Charity Commissioner and by the District Judge, Nasik. The High Court held that the Nasik Math is hot liable to be registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.

2. The High Court found the following facts relating to the Nasik Math:

"The Principal Math is situated in the State of Mysore and as His Holiness is a Sanyasi he generally names the house properties with temples as Maths . The properties at Nasik Panchvati, are known as properties of Shringeri Math. The Samadhis have been constructed to look like temple, there is Sabha Mandap in which an image of Adya Shankaracharya is installed all the expenses have been incurred by His Holiness from the income of the Shringeri Math and some money was borrowed from Nasik creditors. Here religious instructions are not imparted and no spiritual service is rendered to any body of disciples. Sometimes people come there and if they are given admission they stay there for a short time. There being "Samadhis" in, these premies, there are some idols and occasional festivals but it is not a temple for purpose of public worship. No member of the public is allowed to enter the place of worship but it is carried out by the Pujari according to Vedic usage. This property is being maintained by the Principal Math from the very beginning. The income consists of (1) rent earned by letting the property; (2) offering made before the Samadhis; (3) grant from Nasik Treasury of Rs. 289 per year; and (4) yearly grant of Rs. 460-1-00 from village Pimpalgaon Funji in Ahmednagar District."

3. The High Court further observed:

"One of the Sanads regarding the income of Pimpalgaon village is on record and it shows that the grant of the income of the village is made to Shri Shankaracharya clearly mentioning it to be for the expenses of the Sansthan but the tenor of the documents shows that the offering is made to the Shankaracharya himself."

4. The relevant provisions of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 (Bombay Act XXXIX of 1950)- hereinafter referred to as the Act- are as follows:

5. The preamble of the Act reads:

"An Act to regulate and to make better provision for the administration of public religious and charitable trusts in the State of Bombay.

It would be noticed that the intention is only to deal with the trusts which are in the State of Bombay ; it is not the idea to regulate or make better provision for the administration of trusts outside the State of Bombay; and one of the questions which we have to answer is whether Nasik Math can be said to be in the State of Bombay. The word math" is defined in Section 2(9) of the Act to mean "an institution for the promotion of Hindu religion presided over by a person whose duty it is to engage himself in inparting religious instructions or rendering spiritual services to a body of disciples or who exercises or claim to exercise head ship over such a body and includes places of religious worship or institutions which are appurtenant to the institution." "Public trust" is defined in Section 2 (13) to mean "an express or constructive trust for either a public religious or charitable purpose or both and includes a temple, a math, a wakf, a dharmada or any other religious or charitable endowment and society formed either for a religious or charitable purpose or for both and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860". The definition of "temple" may also be noted. "Temple" means "a place by whatever designation known and used as a place of public religion worship and dedicated to or for the benefit of or used as of right by the Hindu community or any Section thereof, as a place of public religious worship, [S. 2 (17)"].

6. Section 18 of the act provides for registration