- (1.) THIS is an appeal by the defendants against the judgment and decree of the learned Additional District Judge, Ganganagar dated 2-12-1969, decreeing the plaintiffs' suit for declaration and other ancillary reliefs which will be referred to hereinafter in detail. For reasons which will presently appear, it is necessary to set out the allegations of the plaint clearly and in considerable details. It is stated in the plaint that Baba Baggasingh of Tarantaran established a religious institution for the propagation of the tenets and preachings of the Radhaswami faith at tarantaran. He accordingly initiated many disciples to this order and acquired movable and immovable properties for the development and progress of the order. He consequently established a Dera which is known as Sant Sat Guru Baba Bagga singh Dera at Tarantaran hereinafter referred to as the Baba Bagga Singh in his lifetime nominated Sant Sat Guru Deva Singh as his principal disciple descendant to the Gaddi. On the death of Baba Bagga Singh, Devasingh succeeded to the gaddi. He also acquired properties and made accretions to the Dera's properties. Baba Deva Singh died on 20-12-60. Three or four months prior to his death, he had become extremely weak and was not in a position to even walk. It is further stated in the plaint that some interested persons had created factions amongst the sewadars and won some of them over their side with a view to grab the properties of the said Dera. To achieve this end, it is stated that they managed to get executed by Sant Sat Guru Deva Singh, trust-deed Ex. 2 and deed of transfer Ex. 3 in respect of the properties of the Dera by exercising coercion, undue influence and fraud upon him on 15-12-60, and also got established an Association under memorandum of Association Ex. 1. It is pertinent to mention here that under the trust-deed Ex. 2 dated 15-12-60, Baba Deva Singh appointed himself the sole trustee of the properties of the Dera and in the capacity of the sole trustee, transferred on the same day all the properties under Ex. 2 belonging to the Dera in favour of the Association hereinafter to be referred as defendant No, 1, for the management of the aforesaid properties. The plaintiffs allege that the trust-deed ex. 2 and the transfer-deed Ex. 3 as well as the Memorandum of Association Ex. 1 and the Association made thereunder were illegal, void and contrary to the provisions of law. The plaintiffs impeached the validity of the trust deed inter alia on the following grounds. (1) That the Dera Baba Bagga Singh being a public religious institution and its properties being religious property in the nature of trust property and that Baba Deva Singh being merely a trustee of this property could not create any further trust in respect thereof. That in any event, the trust-deed was void as the same was not executed by free-will and was vitiated by coercion, fraud and undue influence. The transfer-deed Ex. 3 dated 15-12-60 was impeached mainly on the grounds (1) that the properties transferred thereunder were public religious trust properties and were therefore inalienable, and (2) that baba Deva Singh had no authority to alienate the public religious trust properties. The plaint further goes on to state that the defendants had taken over the possession of the properties of the said Dera illegally and were even dealing with them in contravention of the object of the trust. It has been stated that one Pratap singh, defendant No. 2, had illegally proclaimed himself to be the Sant Sat Guru of the said Dera. The plaintiffs, therefore, stated that the trust-deed and the transfer-deed being void could not confer any right on the defendants and their possession was merely that of a trespasser. On these allegations, the plaintiffs prayed for a declaration for declaring the transfer-deed Ex. 3, the trust-deed Ex. 2 and the Memorandum of Association Ex. 1 to be void. The plaintiffs also prayed for three more reliefs as a consequence of the said declaration: firstly, for the removal of defendant No. 2 from the post of Sant Sat Guru of the said Dera, secondly, for convening a meeting of the Sangh for appointment of a new Sant Sat Guru, and thirdly, for the appointment of a Receiver and taking accounts with regard to the properties of the said Dera.
(2.) DEFENDANTS Nos. 1 and 2 filed a joint written statement in which they admitted that the Radhaswami Dera Baba Bagga Singh is a religious institution and the properties belonging to it are religious properties of the public trust. They, however, pleaded that the properties are not in the nature of properties as contemplated under the ordinary trust law, and that Baba Deva Singh's position was not that of an ordinary trustee. According to them, the position of Sant Sat guru is very much different from an ordinary trustee. They alleged that Sant Sat guru is looked upon as an incarnation of God and has an unlimited and absolute power over the properties of the Dera. They traversed the rest of the allegations and denied that the trust-deed Ex. 2 and the transfer-deed Ex. 3 were executed by sant Sat Guru Deva Singh under undue influence, coercion or fraud. They further contended that the suit as framed was governed by the provisions of Section 92, c. P. C. and was, therefore, not maintainable for want of sanction of the Advocate general. They also pleaded that the plaintiffs had no locus standi as they were not at all interested in the affairs of the Dera and that the suit was not triable by the court as the impugned documents were executed at Tarantaran and the Dera is also situated at Tarantaran and consequently the cause of action if any did not arise wholly Or partly at Ganganagar. It may be mentioned that the defendants participated in the proceedings till the plaintiffs" evidence was examined, but on 29-68, learned counsel for the defendants pleaded no instructions and therefore the suit was proceeded under Order 17, Rule 2, C. P. C.
(3.) THE trial Judge after recording the evidence of the plaintiffs and hearing the arguments decreed the plaintiffs' suit as prayed.;