MATHUR, J. - (1.) THE petitioners in the instant public interest litigation claims to be the followers of Pushtimargiya Vaishnava Sampradaya and devotees of temple of Shri Shrinath Ji at Nathdwara. THEy seek direction to the respondents for framing of proper and appropriate scheme for regulating arrangement of the Darshan, holding of Festivals, Ceremonies and distribution of Prasad. A further direction has been sought commanding the 2nd respondent i. e. Goswami Shri Rakesh Ji Maharaj to ensure the performance of public and statutory duties.
(2.) BEFORE dealing with the merit of the grievance voiced, it would be convenient to set out briefly the historical, cultural and religious background of the temple and the incidence in relation to the management of the temple. The temple of Shrinathji at Nathdwara holds a very high place among the Hindu Temples in this country and is looked upon with great reverence by the Hindus in general and Vaishnava followers of Vallabha in particular. As in the case of other ancient revered Hindu temples, so in the case of the Shrinathji Temple at Nathdwara, mythology has woven an attractive web about the genesis of its construction at Nathdwara. Part of it may be history and part may be fiction, but the story is handed down from generation to generation of devotees and is believed by all of them to be true. This famous temple is visited by thousands of Hindu devotees in general and by the followers of the Pushtimargiya Vaishnava Sampradaya in particular. The followers of Vallabha who constitute a denomination are popularly known as such denomination was founded by Vallabha. He was the son of Tallanga Brahmin named Laxmana Bhatt. On one occasion Laxmana Bhatt had gone on pilgrimage to Banaras with his wife Elamagara. On the way she gave birth to a son in 1479 A. C. The son was known as Vallabha. It is said that God Gopala Krishna manifested himself to Vallabha on the Govardhan Hill by the name of Shrinathji. Vallabha built a small temple at Giriraj and installed the image of Shrinath Ji. Later on a big temple was constructed. It further appears from the religious book entitled "cultural Heritage of India" Vol. III that in the course of time Vallabha was succeeded by his son Vithalnath Ji. He had great organizing capacity and his work was actuated by missionary zeal. In denomination, Vallabha is described as Acharya or Maha Prabhji and Vithalnathji is described as Gosain or Goswamin. It is said that Vithalnathji removed the idol of of Shrinathji to another temple which was built by him. It further appears that Emperor Akbar granted land in Mowza of Jetpur to Vithalnathji, in order to build buildings, gardens, cow-sheds and workshops for the temple of Goverdhannathji. Some how in the year 1593 A. D. which was followed by another order issued in October 2, 1633 by Emperor Sharjahan. The history records that before the death of Vithalnathji, he entrusted the principal idol of Shrinathji to his eldest son Girdharlalji and the other idols were given over to each one of his other sons, who in turn turn founded separate shrines and at various places which are also held by the members of the denomination in high esteem and reverence. As the history further records that when Aurangzeb came to the throne, the congenial atmosphere of tolerance disappeared and the Hindu temples were exposed to risk and danger of Aurangzeb's intolerant and bigoted activities. It further appears that in Vraj Bhumi, Mathura, there was a famous religious place housing the temple of Lord Mathuranathji. The devotees whereof were Vaishnavs. The said temple was also noticed by Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb. History also reveals that in or about 1726, the Emperor Aurangzeb led with aggression on Mathura and fearing such invasion, all religious and pious places of Vraj Mandal witnessed largescale exodus which was followed by destruction of religious and holy places by the soldiers of Emperor Aurangzeb. In such difficult times, the image above referred or the idol was planned to be shifted from the Vraj Bhumi to a safe place to avoid destruction thereof at the hands of the Army Emperor Aurangzeb. As per historian the image of Lord Shrinathji was carried to Agra, Pushkar, Dungarpur and Jodhpur. The journey ended at small hamlet town of Siarh. This place is now known as Shrinathji, in course of time developed as a town in the name of Nathdwara which means doorways of Nath.
(3.) AS above stated facts are, thus, according to the tradition, the genesis of the construction of the Temple at Nathdwara. Since its construction, the religious reputation of the temple has grown by leaps and bounds and today it can legitimately claim to be one of the few leading religious temples of the Hindus and more particularly Pushtimargiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. It also is now one of the richest religious institution in the country. As regards the management of the temple, it has a long history, which is not required to be narrated in the present context. It is not in dispute that succession to the Gaddi of Tilkayat has been governed by the rule of Primoginature. As the position of the entire Tilkayat was that of a spiritual leader of denomination. Be that as it may, the shrine of Shrinathji has always been and was a religious institution for the followers of the Vaishnavas Sampradaya and all the properties offered at the shrine were the property of the shrine and that the Tilkayat Maharaj was merely a Custodian, Manager and Trustee of the said property for the shrine. In the year 1952 Tilkayat appointed a committee of 12 members for the better management of the temple. It was followed by a committee of 21 members in the year 1953. It further appears that while the said committee was incharge of the management some valuables stored and locked in the room in the premises of the temple of Shrinathji alleged to be removed by the Tilkayat in December, 1957, which created excitement amongst the members of the public in general and the followers of the denomination in particular, which led to appointment of Commission of Inquiry by the Rajasthan Government. The commission submitted its report on 11. 10. 1959, which contains severe stricture against the conduct of the Tilkayat. It appears that the dispute as regards between the Tilkayat and the Rajasthan Government was referred to the sole arbitrator Justice Mr. Mahajan, a retired Judged of the Supreme Court, who made an award on September 12, 1961, and held that except in regard to the items specified by him in his award, the rest of the property belonged to the Tilkayat, and he found that when the Tilkayat removed the properties, he believed that they were his personal properties. In the background of the said events, the State of Rajasthan thought it necessary that a Scheme should be drafted for the management of temple and the proposal also appears to have received approval of the Tilkayat. In order to give effect to the said proposal, it was agreed between the parties that a suit under Section 92 of the Civil Procedure Code should be filed in the Court of the District Judge at Udaipur and parties then thought that the suit would be non-contentious and would speedily end in a scheme of management being drafted with the consent of parties. The proposal and consequence of events appears to have led to filing of a suit No. 1 of 1956 in the District Court at Udaipur and in accordance with the agreement which he had reached with the authorities, the Tilkayat filed a non-contentious written statement. However, before the suit could make any appropriate progress, Ghanshyamlalji and Baba Rajvi the son of the Tilkayat applied to be made parties to the suit and it became clear that these added parties desired to raise contentions in the suit and that entirely changed the complexion of the litigation. It was then obvious that the litigation would be a long drawn out affairs and the object of evolving a satisfactory scheme for the management of the affairs of the temple would not be achieved until the litigation went through a protracted course, and it was under these circumstances, that the Governor of Rajasthan promulgated Ordinance called "the Nathdwara Ordinance, 1959" (No. II of 1959) on February 06, 1959, which Ordinance in due course was replaced Act No. 13 of 1959 i. e. "the Nathdwara Act, 1959" (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1959 ). In exercise of the powers conferred under the said Act, the State of Rajasthan has also framed Rules known as "the Nathdwara Temple Rules, 1973". The constitutional validity of the Act of 1959 was upheld by the Apex Court in Shri Govind Lal Ji vs. State of Rajasthan reported in AIR 1963 SC page 1638. It is held therein that the right to manage the properties of the Temple is purely secular matter and it cannot be regarded as a religious practice so as to fall under Article 25 (1) or as amounting to affair in the matter of religion. A reference has been made to a publication under the caption "mahaprabhu Shrimad Vallabha Acharya" by Dr. Gajanan Sharma. Vallabha Acharya developed the doctrine of "pusthi Marg" (Path of grace ). The concept of Pusthi Marg is not of worship but service/dedication. It is the belief that it is not statute or deity of Lord Krishna, but it is "bal Swaroop" of Lord Krishna which exists in Nand Rai's Haveli at Shri Nathdwara. It is in that context that the service is offered to Lord Krishna. It is quite different from the concept of worship. His worship consists of several acts of performance every day in the prescribed order of ceremonies. These ceremonies begin with the ringing of the bell in the morning and putting the Lord to bed at night. After the Lord is awakened by the ringing of the bell, there is a blowing of the conch-shell, awakening of the Lord and offering morning refreshments; waving of lamps; bathing; dressing; food; leading the cows out of grazing the mid-day meal (Rajbhog); waving of lamps again; the evening service; the evening meal and going to bed. These are rituals performed with meticulous care from day to day constitute the prescribed items of Seva which the devotees attend every day in the Vallabh Temple. These are popularly known as different kinds of Darshans. The following Darshans are witnessed at the Lord Shri Shrinathji Temple: (1) Mangala:- Shri Nathji is awakened and offered butter, fruits and sweet and salted snacks. The shringara for this ceremony is comparatively simple. In the summer months, Shri Nathji is dressed in a light dhoti like garment (arbanda ). During the winter, the lord appears in a robe which leaves only his face exposed. (2) Shringara:- Shri Nathji is elaborately dressed. He holds a flute and is shown a mirror in which he may check his appearance. At this time, he is offered dry fruits. (3) Gwala:- Krishna leads the cows out of graze. Incense is burned. Milk and sweets are offered to him. This darshana is being celebrated. (4) Rajabhoga:- This is the most eleborate ceremony. It takes place around 10:30 in the morning. A large meal is prepared for Shri Nathji and offered to him before the doors are opened. Since this is the major Darshan of the day, the doors remain open longer than in the other ones. After Rajabhoga Krishna is laid down for siesta. (5) Utthapana:- This is the first darshana of the evening. It takes place around 3:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon. Shri Nathji is awakened from siesta by the sound of the conch. Again fruits and milk are offered. (6) Bhoga:- About one hour after Utthapana, Bhoga is performed. In the summer, fountains are placed before Shri Nathji and in the winter, he is warmed by a stone (Plate 5a ). During the summer season, flowers are added to the Shringara. More food is offered at this time. (7) Arti (Sandhya):- Krishna brings the cows back at dusk and the ceremony of lighting the lamps is performed (Arti ). The Shringara is lightened at this time and food is offered. During the month of Shravana and on festival days, Bhoga and Arti are done together. (8) Shayana:- This is not always performed openly. From Chaitra Shukla 9 to Ashwina Shukla 9, the doors are closed to devotees. Shri Nathji is offered more food and pana (beera) and then put to bed. The above stated eight Darshans are held during the summer months. The first one starting at about between 5:30 to 5:40 A. M. in the morning. In winter months, instead of eight Darshans, there are seven Darshans. Thus, according to the religious tenets and precepts, the Temple is not opened all through out the day, but is opened to the followers and worshipers for a limited period when these Darshans are over and it thus naturally follows having regard to the short duration for which these Darshans remain opened. There would be large crowd of followers and worshipers waiting to have Darshan of Lord Shrinathji. The short duration during which these Darshans remain opened and having regard to the fact that large number of visitors and worshipers come to have Darshan, which number is in thousands. ;