K.S. Tiwana, J. - (1.) ON approach, under Section 7(1) of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 (hereinafter referred as the Act), by 56 persons of villages Bilas -. pur, Ghodani, Dhamot, Lapran and Buani, the worshippers of the Gurdwara in question situated in the area of village Bilaspur, District Patiala, the Government published notification No. 1702 -G.P. dated 14th of September, 1962, in the Punjab Government Gazette dated 14th of September, 1962, under Section 7(3) of the Act, containing the description and boundaries of the Gurdwara building and the particulars of the land attached thereto. Som Dass son of Bhagat Ram, Sant Ram, son of Narain Dass and Anant Ram, son of Sham Dass, residents of Village Bilaspur presented a composite petition under Sections 8 and 101 of the Act to the Government. They stated that the Gurdwara is not a Sikh Gurdwara but is a Dera Udasian owned and managed by them. There is nothing in it to show that it was a Sikh Gurdwara. It was a Dharamshala where the Sadhus come and take shelter. Samadhis of the founder of the Dera and his successors were situated in the Dera. It is not a historical place nor is it connected with any of the Sikh Gurus or martyrs nor was it managed by any person appointed by the Sikh community. It was under the ownership and management of the Petitioners jointly with Bachan Dass, Niranjan Dass, sons of Bhagat Ram, Pritam Dass, Nikka Dass, sons of Narain Dass, Hari Dass, Ishar Dass, Darshan Dass and Amar Dass, sons of Sham Dass since the time of their fore -fathers. The Petitioners and the other persons mentioned therein were the hereditary office -holders of the Dera in succession in accordance with their ancestral shares. The property and land attached to the Dharamshala was admitted to be in their possession. It was alleged that the notification was wrongly published and the institution was not a Sikh Gurdwara. They held the office in succession according to the hereditary rights long before the first day of November, 1956. The prayer of the Petitioners in the petition is: Hence it is prayed that this petition under Section 8 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 as amended by Act No. 1 of 1959 be accepted and it may be declared that Dharamshala Guru Granth Sahib situated in village Bilaspur, Tehsil Sirhind, District Patiala is not a Sikh Gurdwara but an institution of Udasi Sadhus owned and managed by the Petitioners and other aforesaid members of their families in ancestral shares.
(2.) THE petition was forwarded by the Punjab Government to the Sikh Gurdwara Tribunal (hereinafter referred as the Tribunal) appointed under the Act for disposal. On a notice by the Tribunal, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (hereinafter referred as the S.G.P.C.) contested the petition. It was claimed that the institution was a Sikh Gurdwara having been established by the Sikhs for worship, wherein Guru Granth Sahib is the only object of worship and the sole owner of the Gurdwara property. It was denied that the institution was a Udasi Dera or the petitioners were its owners, managers or hereditary office -holders. The succession was denied from Guru to Chela. A preliminary objection was raised that the Petitioners were not hereditary officeholders of the institution and had no locus -standi to file any. such objection. The petition was first tried under Section 8 of the Act on the preliminary point as to whether the Petitioners were the hereditary office -holders of the institution in dispute. After recording the evidence of the parties and hearing them the Tribunal found against the Petitioners on the preliminary issue. The Petitioners filed F.A.O. No. 40 of 1965 Som Dass and Ors. v. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, in this Court, which was dismissed on 24th of March, 1976.
(3.) IN the written statement submitted by the S.G.P.C., regarding the portion of the petition pertaining to the claim of the Petitioners under Section 10 of the Act, it was stated that the property, namely, the land and the building are the properties of Gurdwara Sahib Dharamshala Guru Granth Sahib at Bilaspur. Petitioners along with their family members have all along been the managers of the Gurdwara and the land owned by it. It was further stated that no personal right had been claimed by the Petitioners in this land.;