BHANDARI, J. - (1.) THIS is a writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution on behalf of Surajmal Singhvi who claims to be the Chairman of the Trust Committee of Shri Nakodaji Paras Nath Tirth of Mevanagar. There is a famous temple of Lord Parasnath in village Mevanagar, Tehsil Pachpadra, District Barmer. THIS temple is known as. The temple of Shri Nakodaji Parasnath'. THIS temple is a Jain Public religious temple. The gross income from the properties of this temple and other sources is more than Rs. 10,000/- per annum. According to the petitioner, the administration and management of this temple is being carried on by a Trust Committee on behalf of Jain Swetamber Sangh in which the entire property of the temple is vested. According to the petitioner, the properties of the said temple consist of the temple building, cash, ornaments for the idol and other movables and immovables, and all the said properties had been constructed or acquired by contributions from the members of the Jain Swetambar Murti Pujak Sangh residing in different places all over India and from offerings and gifts made to the said temple and moneys realised from gifts for performing religious ceremonies and from contributions for specific objects such as for temple, for idol, for Sadharan and Jiv Daya etc. which are considered to be religious, pious and charitable objects according to Jain scriptures and its religious tenets. It has been urged that according to the religious faith and belief of Jains, the properties of the said temple can only be utilised for the maintenance, upkeep and worship of the idol and for the purpose of different religious ceremonies and propagation of Jain faith and religion and for other analogous purposes which are pious, religious and charitable. It is also stated in the petition that administration and management of the said temple and the work of the idol and other religious ceremonies are carried on according to the scriptures and tenets of Jain religion. The management of the property is carried on in accordance with the advice, guidance and religious sense of the local Jain Murti Pujak Sangh known as 'shree Sangh' according to the advice of religious teachers, preceptors and Sadhus.
(2.) THE Rajasthan State Legislature enacted the Rajasthan Public Trusts Act, 1959 (Act No. 42 of 1959) (hereinafter called the Act) which received the assent of the President on 22nd October, 1959 and was published in the Rajasthan Gazette Extra Ordinary Pt. IV-A, dated 28th October, 1959. In this petition, the petitioner has challenged the various provisions of the Acton the ground that they are in direct and flagrant breach of fundamental right of religious freedom and freedom of conscience of the Jains and their right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion and imposes unreasonable restrictions on the rights of religious denomination to maintain and manage religious institutions and to manage their own affairs in the matter of religion and to administer their property according to Jain Shsan rules and regulations. In order to appreciate the contentions of the petitioner it is proper to refer to the provisions of the Act which are being challenged in this writ petition. Sec. 2 (11) which defines "public trust", 2 (13) defines "religious endowment" or "endowment", 2 (14) defines "religious institution" or "institution", 2 (15) "specific endowment" and 2 (16) "temple" in the following manner: 2 (11 ). "public trust" means an express or constructive trust for either a public religious or charitable purpose or both and includes a temple, a math, dharmada or any other religious or charitable endowment or institution and a society formed either for a religious or charitable purpose or for both; 2 (13 ). "religious endowment" or "endowment" means all property belonging to or given or endowed for the support of a religious institution or given or endowed for the performance of any service or charity connected therewith and includes the premises of the religious institution as well as the idols, if any, installed therein and any public charity associated with a festival or observance of a religious character, whether connected with a religious institution or not, but does not include gifts of property made as personal gifts to the trustee or hereditary trustee or working trustee of such institution or to any service-holder or other employee thereof; 2 (14 ). "religious institution" or 'institution' means an institution for the promotion of any religion or persuasion and includes a temple, math and any religious establishment or any place of religious worship or religious instruction whether or not appurtenant to such institution; 2 (15) "specific endowment" means any property or money endowed for the performance of any specific service or charity in a religious institution; 2 (16 ). "temple" means a place, by whatever designation known, used as a place of public religious worship and dedicated to or for the benefit of or used as of right by a community or any section thereof as a place of public religious worship; There is no doubt that the temple of Nakodaji Parasnath falls within the definition of public trust, religious institution and temple and its property is religious endowment within the meaning of that expression. Secs. 3 to 6 contained in Chapter II of the Act make provision that the public trust shall not be void on the ground of uncertainty, and on the ground that it is void with respect to the non charitable or non-religious purpose, on the ground of absence of an obligation and on failure of specific object or society etc. ceasing to exist. Secs. 7 to 10 contained in Chapter III relate to appointment of officers or servants by the State Government. Secs. 11 to 15 contained in Chapter IV relate to establishment and functions of Board and Committees. Chapter V of the Act relates to registration of public trusts. In this Chapter, Sec. 17 makes it incumbent on the working trustee of public trust to file an application for registration before the Assistant Commissioner having jurisdiction for the registration of such trust. Sub-sec. 3 of Sec. 17 lays down that: "each such, application shall be accompanied by such fee, if any not exceeding five Rupees and to be utilised for such purposes, as may be prescribed. " It is contended by the petitioner that the provision laying down that the application must be accompanied by such fee. if any not exceeding five rupees, is in the nature of tax and the State Legislature had no power to impose any kind of tax on any public trust or religious endowment. Then follow other sections in the Act which need not be set out in detail as they have not been challenged in this writ petition. Chapter VI relates to the management of trust property and consists of the two following secs. 30 and 31 which are set out in detail: 30. Investment of public trust moneys - Where any property belonging to public trust consists of money and such money cannot be applied immediately or at any early date to the purposes of the said public trust, the working trustee thereof shall be bound, notwithstanding a direction to the contrary contained in the instrument of trust, if any, to deposit the money in a Scheduled Bank as defined in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Central Act 2 of 1934), or in Postal Savings Bank or in a Cooperative Bank registered under the Rajasthan Cooperative Societies Act, 1953 (Rajasthan Act 4 of 1953) or to invest it in public securities; Provided that such money may be invested in the first mortgage of immovable property situated in India if the property is not lease-hold for a term of three years and the value of the property exceeds by one-half the mortgage money; Provided further that the Commissioner may, by general or special order, permit the working trustee of any public trust or class of such trusts to invest such money in any other manner, (2) Nothing in sub-sec. (1) shall affect any investment or deposit already made before the commencement in the instrument of trust; Provided that any interest or dividend received or accruing from such investment or deposit on or after the commencement of this Act or any sum realised on the maturity of the said investment or deposit shall be applied or invested in the manner prescribed in sub-sec. (1 ). 31 Previous sanction to be obtained for certain transfers - (1) Subject to the directions in the instrument of trust or any direction given under this Act or any other law by any Court; (a) no sale, exchange or gift of any immovable property or of movable property exceeding five thousand rupees in value, and (b) no lease, for a period exceeding five year in the case of agricultural land or for a period exceeding three years in the case of nonagricultural land or a building, belonging to a public trust shall be valid without the previous sanction of the Assistant Commissioner; (2) An application for the sanction of the Assistant Commissioner under sub-sec. (1) shall be made in the prescribed manner and form. (3) Where, on an application duly made for sanction in respect of any transaction specified in sub-sec. (1), the Assistant Commissioner does not within two months of the receipt thereof, pass final orders, it shall be presumed that he has accorded sanction in respect of that transaction, provided that the application describes the transaction with sufficient accuracy. (4) The Assistant Commissioner shall not refuse to accord sanction in respect of any transaction specified in sub-sec. (1) unless such transaction is, in his opinion, likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the public trust, and no order refusing to accord sanction shall be passed unless the working trustee of such public trust has had a reasonable opportunity of being heard. " It is contended by the petitioner that Section 30 of the Act makes it obligatory for the trustee to deposit the money referred to in the manner set forth therein and Sec. 31 provides restrictions on sale, exchange of gift or any immovable property or movable property exceeding five thousand rupees in value, and on a lease for a period exceeding five years. Both these provisions according to the petitioner, interfere with the right of Jains to manage their own affairs in matters of religion according to their religious scriptures and tenets and they are ultra vires the Constitution. This is amplified further by stating that money belonging to Jain Trust can be utilized specially for the specified objects and cannot be used for purposes which are regarded as 'hinsa' according to the Jain tenets and the provision for depositing money in the particular manner would operate directly against the principles of Jain religion. Chapter VII contains Secs. 32 to 36 and they relate to the accounts, audit and budget of public trust. The provisions contained in this Chapter are also challenged in the Writ petition. Chapter VIII contains secs. 37 to 46. Secs. 38 to 43 are seriously challenged on various grounds. It is contended by the petitioner that under Sec. 40 of the Act, court, meaning the District Court, has been given very wide powers as, for example, the power of removing any trustee or appointing a new trustee. It has also the power of deciding what portion of the trust property shall be allocated to any particular object of the trust and also provides for a scheme of management of the trust property. Besides, it can also direct how the funds of the public trust the original object of which has failed shall be spent and issue further directions as it thinks fit. Giving such wide discretion to the court may result in taking the administration from the hands of the religious denomination. Similarly, it may result in diverting the trust property of funds thereof for such purposes as the court considers expedient or proper even when the religious object of the Trust can be carried out. These are it is contended, unwarranted encroachments on the freedom of religious institution regarding the management of its religious affairs. For similar reasons, the powers granted to the court under sec. 43 are challenged as these powers may result in the appointment of new trustees at the discretion of the court. Secs. 47 to 53 contained in Chapter IX relate to the general control over public trusts. Of this Chapter, sec 48 and 51 (2) are challenged in the Writ petition. During the course of arguments objection to the validity of Sec. 48 was not seriously pressed. Sec. 51 runs, as follow: 51'. Vacancy in the board of trustees - (1) Where a public trust is under the management of a board of trustees, the working trustee shall when a vacancy occurs in the board, inform the Assistant Commissioner within twenty days of such vacancy and the time within and the manner in which he proposes to fill the same. (2) If the working trustee fails to give any such information or to fill the vacancy within the time specified by him, the Assistant Commissioner may, by order passed in writing, fill the vacancy, and any person having interest in the public trust who may be aggrieved by the order of the Assistant Commissioner may apply to the court for setting aside the order of the Assistant Commissioner within thirty days from the date of such order. It is contended that wide powers have been given to the Assistant Commissioner for filling any vacancy and to any person having interest in the public trust as a trustee of that public trust. It is also pointed out that a person having interest has been very widely defined in sec. 2 (9) and even a pujari or any person who undertakes or participates in the distribution of the gifts of the temple may be appointed as a trustee by the Assistant Commissioner. Sec. 52 to 65 are contained in Chapter X which form the main subject of controversy in this writ petition. The first two secs. 52 and 53 are important, and they are quoted below in extenso: 52. Application of Chapter - (1) The provisions contained in this Chapter shall apply to every public trust - (a) which vests in the State Government, or (b) which is maintained at the expense of the State Government, or (c) which is managed directly by the State Government, or (d) which is under the superintendence of the Court of Wards, or (e) of which the gross annual income is ten thousand rupees or more. (2) The State Government shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Chapter, publish in the official Gazette a list of the public trusts to which this Chapter applies and may by like notification and in like manner add to or vary such list. 53. Management of public trusts to which this chapter applies - (1) As from such date as the State Government may appoint in this behalf, the management of a public trust to which this Chapter applies, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any provision of this Act or in any law, custom or usage, vest in a committee of management to be constituted by the State Government in the manner hereinafter provided and the State Government may appoint different dates for different public trusts for the purpose of this section. (2) On or before the dale fixed under sub-sec. (1) in respect of a public trust, the State Government shall, subject to the provision contained in sec. 54, constitute by notification in the official Gazette a committee of management thereof under such name as may be specified in the notification, and such committee shall be deemed to be the working trustee of the said public trust and its endowment; Provided that, upon the combined request of the trustees of, and persons interested in several public trusts representing the same religion or persuasion, the State Government may constitute a committee of all of them, if their endowments are situated in the same city, town or locality. (3) Every committee of management constituted under sub-sec. (2) shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed and may by the name specified in the notification under sub-sec. (2) sue and be sued (4) A committee of management shall consist of a Chairman and such even number of members, not exceeding ten and not less than two, as the State Government may determine. (5) The Chairman and members of a committee of management shall be appointed by the State Government by notification in the official Gazette from amongst - (a) trustees of public trusts representing the same religion or persuasion and having the same objects, and (b) persons interested in such public trusts or in the endowments thereof or belonging to the denomination for the purpose of which or for the benefit of whom the trust was founded, in accordance with the general wishes of the persons so interested so far as such wishes can be ascertained in the prescribed manner ; Provided that in the case of a public trust having a hereditary trustee such trustee, and in the case of a math, the head thereof, shall be the Chairman of the Committee of management, if he is willing to serve as such. It is contended in the writ petition that the provisions contained in Chapter X are very drastic and they take away the management from the hands of a denomination and vest it in the hands of a committee, known as 'committee of Management'. The constitution of this committee as provided in Sec. 53 (5) may result in taking away altogether the management out of the hands of a denomination, for the reasons that any person not even belonging to the denomination of the religious trust can be appointed as member of the committee of management and that a person who is not worthy of such appointment though belonging to the same religious denomination, can be appointed as its member. It is also contended that according to the tenets and scriptures of Jain religion, only Jains who are well versed in the Jain Scriptures and have very high spiritual and moral abilities can be appointed as trustees of the Jain trust and that the management and administration of the Jain trust is to be carried out according to the advice and orders of Acharyas and Sadhus, and the provisions contained in the Chapter are wholly inconsistent with the administration of public trust as contemplated by Jain scriptures. Sec. 62 in this Chapter gives certain powers to the Commissioner, and which runs as follows: "the Commissioner may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, provide for the performance of any duty which a committee of management is bound to perform under the provisions of this Act or the rules or directions made or given thereunder and may direct that the expenses of the performance of such duties shall be paid by the person having for the time being the custody of any fund belonging to the public trust for which the committee has been constituted from out of such fund. " The petitioner contends that this section gives very wide powers to the Commissioner to provide for the performance of any duty which a committee of management is bound to perform. Thus, the commissioner has been given very wide powers to take the management from the hands of the committee in his own hands and such a provision offends against the religious freedom guaranteed to religious denomination under Art 26. Section 63 gives power to the State Government to supersede the Committee of Management, if in the opinion of the State Government, the Committee is unable to perform the duties imposed on it by or under the Act. It is contended that this provision also deprives religious denomination of the management of the religious trust. It is also pointed out that under stc. 61, the Committee of Management is to perform its duties subject to general or special order of the Commissioner which when carried into effect may mean that the Committee of Management is to be a body to act according to the orders of the Commissioner and the Commissioner may make order to substantively deprive the committee of management of the power of management and thus there is a danger that the religious denomination may be deprived of the power of its management. Secs. 77 and 80 are also challenged in the Writ petition, but this part of the case was not pressed at the time of arguments. The petitioner contends that the Rajasthan State (Respondent No. 1) is not entitled to enforce the provisions of the Act and in any case, those which are specifically challenged. It is prayed that a writ direction or order including a writ in the nature of mandamus be granted against Respondent No. 1, Advocate-General, Rajasthan, Jaipur (Respondent No. 2) Commissioner, Devasthan, Udaipur (Respondent No. 3) and the Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan, Jodhpur (Respondent No. 4) ordering and directing each of them to forbear from enforcing or taking any steps in the enforcement of the Rajasthan Public Trust Act or any of its provisions and in particular from enforcing any of the penal provisions, or in any case, sections 2 (9), 12 (4), 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 41, 43, 43, 51 (2), 53, 61, 63, 71, 73, 76, 77 and 80 of the said Act and the Rules framed there under be declared void. In the reply filed by the Respondents, it is admitted that the temple of Nakodaji Parasnath is a public trust and is governed by the Rajasthan Public Trusts Act. It is, however, denied that any of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution are infringed by the said Act The contention raised by the petitioner are controverted and it is urged that the provisions of the Act are good and valid and that the petitioner is not entitled to any relief.
(3.) THIS at once takes us to the examination of the question as to what is meant by religion in Articles 25 and 26. THIS aspect of the matter has been considered by their Lordships of the Supreme Court in a number of cases. The earliest authoritative pronouncement on this point is contained in the judgment of Mukherjea, J. on behalf of the Court in the Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras vs. Shri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Shri Shirur Mutt (1 ). "religion is certainly a matter of faith with individuals or communities and it is not necessarily atheistic. There are well known religions in India like Buddhism and Jainism which do not believe in God or in any Intelligent First Cause. A religion undoubtedly has its basis in a system of beliefs or doctrines which are regarded by those who profess that religion as conducive to their spiritual well being, but it would not be correct to say that religion is nothing else but a doctrine or belief. A religion may not only lay down a code of ethical rules for its followers to accept, it might prescribe rituals and observances, ceremonies and modes of wardship which are regarded as integral parts of religion, and these forms and observances might extend even to matters of food and dress. " "the guarantee under our Constitution not only protects the freedom of religious opinion but it protects also acts done in pursuance of a religion and this is made clear by the use of the expression "practice of religion" in Art. 25. " Paras 17-18 page 290 ). . Their Lordships also pointed out that what constitutes the essential part of religion is primarily to be ascertained with reference to the doctrines of that religion itself. In Ratilal Panachand Gandhi vs. State of Bombay (2), Mukherjea, J. further pointed out that: - "every person has a fundamental right under our Constitution not merely to entertain such religious belief as may be approved of by his judgment or conscience but to exhibit his belief and ideas in such overt acts as are enjoined or sanctioned by his religion and further to propagate his religious views for the edification of others. " It was also pointed out that: - "religious practices or performances of acts in pursuance of religious belief are as such a part of religion as faith or belief in particular doctrines. " In Durgah Committee, Ajmer vs. Syed Hussain Ali (3), the Supreme Court pointed out that: - "in order that the practices in question should be treated as a part of religion they must be regarded by the said religion as its essential and integral part; otherwise even purely secular practices which are not an essential or an integral part of religion are apt to be clothed with a religious form and may make a claim for being treated as religious practices within the meaning of Art. 26. Similarly even practices though religious may have sprung from merely superstitious beliefs and may in that sense be extraneous and unessential accretions to religion itself. Unless such practices are found to constitute an essential and integral part of a religion their claim for the protection under Art. 26 may have to be carefully scrutinised; in other words, the protection must be confined to such religious practices as are an essential and an integral part of it and no other. " . Now let us examine briefly what are the religious beliefs of Jains. In a nutshell, the Jains believe that the Universe consists of animate and in-animate objects. Each animate object has a soul, which has all the characteristics of Godhead, but on account of the fact that -'karmas' are attached to it, it has taken a particular shape or form. It has the Karmas which make the soul to take a particular form i. e. of an animate object. The 'karmas' are the results of good or bad doings of an individual. The soul survives the bodily existence and takes another form according to its 'karmas'. This process goes on till the soul is freed from 'karmas'. For gaining this freedom from 'karmas', the individual must acquire right knowledge, right perception and right conduct. The Jains do not believe that the Universe is the creation of any Supreme being. In this respect, it is not atheistic religion like Hinduism and other religions. The Jains further entertain the view that in some part of the Universe or other, there are cycles of progressive evolution which rotate one after another. Each cycle of progressive evolution or regressive evolution is composed of six ages. In particular ages, religious preceptors are born to preach the Jain religion. According to Jains, 24 Tirthankars were born during the first four ages which preceded the present age which is the 5th age of the present cycle. The first of these 24 Tirthankaras was Lord Rishabdeo and the last was Mahavira. It is not for us to go into the question as to how and when temples or the worship of idols became part of Jain religious practices, but it must be admitted that they are part of the Jain religious practices, but it must be admitted that they are part of the Jain religious practices at least of the important sect of the Jain Swetamber Murti Pujaks who believe in the establishment of temples, in creating endowments for various purposes connected with the temple and other charitable objects and the worship of the idol for the purpose of self-purification i. e. for getting release from the bondage of the 'karma'. We must not detain ourselves in discussing the theoretical background of this matter. Suffice it to say that the Jains in the last several generations have constructed temples and other places of worship and created trusts and endowments which are unique in grandeur and architectural design and which have considerable property attached to them. The contention of the petitioner is that the creating of a religious trust for a temple is part of the Jain religion and that the administration and management thereof is also part of their religion. On this point, various scriptures have been quoted before us. Fortunately for us, the gist of what is contained in the scriptures is given in the Report of the Hindu Religious Endowments Commission (1960-1962) at pages 104 to 106 in Chapter IX which relates to Jain Endowments. This saves us the trouble from entering into meticulous examination of the various texts of the scriptures. Learned counsel for the parties have admitted before us that Paragraphs 7 to 13 of this Report will serve a useful guide for deciding the matter at issue. We quote below in extenso these paragraphs - "7. Jain scriptures have made meticulous rules and regulations for the utilization of funds and management of the trusts. In respect of religious funds Jain Shastras enunciate seven types of funds called "sar Kshetras" and also dictate the uses to which each type of fund could be put. These seven types of funds arc as under : Those concerning - (1) Jeena Bima i. e. Idol of Jineshwar (2) Jeena Chaitya i. e. Temple of Jineshwar These types together are called Dev Dravya. Funds that arc collected by boli (auction), etc. for puja, angi and temple of Jeena are called Dev Dravya. This fund could be used only for the construction restoration and renovation of temples, for the carving of idols, for vilepan or application of chandan and ungunts on idols, and for providing ornaments for idol. (3) Gyan Fund - This fund is to be used for teaching writing, publication and distribution of Jain Agamas and other Shastras, the knowledge of which enables one to obtain Moksha. The money is reserved for the spread of knowledge among Sadhus and not among the laity. (4) Sadhu, (5) Sadhvi - These two funds constitute for practical purposes one Fund called Sadhu/sadhvi fund which could be used for constructing Upashraya, i. e. building wherein the monks reside, for providing Upkarans i. e. material and daily necessities required by the monks and to provide medicine and other means of Vaiyavachha i. e. instruments of service and devotion required during sickness or travelling. (6) Shravak (7) Shravika - These are merged together for practical purposes and are called Shravak and Shravika Fund which could be used for help and for religious, economic and social uplift of Shravaks and Shravikas, i. e. the followers of Jainism. The categories are graded in certain order which is unchangeable and equally important. 8. Besides the above seven Kshetras there is another Fund known as Jiva Daya Fund. This Fund can be used for the care and maintenance of birds, animals, the maintenance of a panjara-pole and the construction of sheds and buildings for the purpose, the provision of grass, veterinary aid and water and the maintenance of grass land. There is again another Fund known as 'sadharan Fund'. This fund is of a secular nature and is used for providing dharamshalas for pilgrims and for keeping and maintaining all the paraphernalia required for the convenience of pilgrims and for doing all things necessary for the comfort and convenience of pilgrims. This fund can also be utilized to finance any other activities towards human uplift. Apart from these there are numerous other Funds (for specific purposes), the corpus or interest of which is to be utilized as per donor's intentions. 9 It is very relevant to note in this connection that the funds donated to one Kshetra cannot be utilized for another Kshetra, Even in the same Kshetra, funds allocated for a particular purpose can be utilized only for that purpose and for no other. Thus, the donations earmarked for beggars cannot be utilized for giving grass to cattle or grain to pigeons, though both are charitable objects 'anukumpa' or compassion which is the source of both these charities has its watertight compartments for 'jiv Daya' and 'bhikshya Daya'. However, if the purpose for which the donation was made becomes extinct or if by reason of circumstances the purpose cannot be carried into effect either in whole or in part or where there is a surplus left after exhausting the purposes of the trust, the funds in a Kshetra, for the lower purposes can be taken to higher ones but not vice versa. Similarly funds of a lower Kshetra can be transferred to any higher Kshetra but not vice versa. The application of the doctrine of cypress may thus be allowed to a limited extent. 10. It is also important to note that income not spent in any one year is not necessarily surplus. Such balance may have been kept from year to year to accumulate to a larger amount so as to be utilized later in a more effective manner on objects for which the funds are intended. Generally the purposes in the Kshetra are perennial in character. They do not fail nor do they become incapable of fulfilment. There is therefore, no question of exhausting the object for which donations in Jainism are made. It is also stated, that Jain tenets do not recognize any cognate purpose in the secular sense of the word. The purposes looking alike are not cognate. They are different with different characteristics. 11. The guiding principle in the utilization of funds of a particular kshetra is the special religious merit. The person receiving the benefit of the funds is a secondary consideration. Thus, the fund for one place or for a particular groups of persons can be used for another place and for other persons anywhere in the world but for the same identical object. ' 12. By and large Jain trusts are public trusts, the beneficial interest being vested in an uncertain and fluctuating body of persons, eitder the public at large or a considerable section of it answering a particular description. Private trusts on their own admission are few and in the nature of Ghar Derasers which are located within the precincts or in the vicinity of residences built by individual Jains for the benefit of their family only in which the general public are not interested. The trusts which come into existence on account of Dravyadan to Kshetras belong to the Jain Sangh. There is no individual ownership. The possession is always of the Sangh through the trustees. 13. So far as Digamber Jains are concerned, they do not have Dev Dravya or Gyan Dravya as such. The funds are donated to the Bhandar Fund and money from that fund can be used for purpose of that temple or for any institution that is run by that temple or for any good object; The money can also be utilized for teaching the principles of Jain philosophy exclusively or alongwith secular learning. There are many patasalas and other educational institutions which are run within the premises of the temple and a few outside the premises as well, by Digamber Jains from the Funds of the Bhandar. " ;