PRABANDHAK COMMITTEE OF SHREE TAKHT HARI MANDERJI Vs. CHANCELLOR OF THE MAGADH UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ application, the Prabandhak Committee of Shree Takht Hari Manderji, Patna City, through its Secretary, Petitioner No. 2, has prayed for a declaration that Shree Guru Govind Singh College, Patna City, is a denominational institution and for quashing the order of the Magadh University, constituting an ad hoc committee for the Management of the College, contained in Annexure '17' as also for issuing necessary directions restraining the respondents from interfering with the petitioners' right to function as a duly constituted Governing Body of the College and to administer and manage the College 'in accordance with the wishes and the proposals of the founders and sponsors of the College.'

(2.) The aforesaid relief is founded on the following facts stated in the writ application. Shree Guru Govind Singh, the founder of the 'Khalsa' and the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was born in ancient town of Patna City, commonly known as the Patna Saheb, and the birth place of the said Guru is taken to be a place of pilgrimage by the followers of Sikhism all over the world and the famous Takht Shri Hari Manderji (hereinafter referred to as the Takht) has been established and maintained as an institution for religious and charitable purposes by the religious denomination of Sikhs, who maintain the affairs of the said Takht through a Committee, known as the Prabandhak Committee of the said Takht. This Committee is constituted in accordance with the rules framed under the constitution of the Prabandhak Committee of the Takht duly approved by the District Judge of Patna. The Prabandhak Committee so constituted, holds office for a period of five years, with the General Secretary as its executive head, and with District Judge of Patna, as its ex officio Chairman. It is alleged that the Sikhs of India constitute an independent religious denomination and are & religious minority and have their own independent culture and language, Punjabi, in Gurumukhi script, which is the language and script of the Guru Granth Saheb, the sacred religious book of Sikhs, which contains the teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus. It is also alleged that the Sikhs are also a linguistic minority.

(3.) The Sikhs, with a view to preserve and conserve their language, culture and religion, have been establishing and maintaining Gurudwaras, temples of worship and other institutions for religious and charitable purposes, including educational institutions, all over the world. It is also alleged that it has been the cherished desire of the Sikh community to establish an educational institution to impart education up to degree and post-graduate standards in the memory of Tenth Guru: Shri Govind Singh at his birth place, Patna City. Accordingly, in the 42nd All India Sikh Educational Conference, held at Patna on the 2nd and 3rd January, 1960, in the premises of the Takht, in which Sardar Surjit Singh 'Majithia, the then Deputy Defence Minister of India and other prominent Sikhs of the country participated, a unanimous decision was taken to establish a College in the name of Shree Guru Govind Singh and the Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee was authorised to take up the question of establishing a college in the name of the said Guru. It was also resolved to request the Government to make available 50 acres of land near the Patna City Railway Station. A copy of the said resolution has been filed as Annexure '1'. On the 4th January, 1960, a meeting of the prominent Sikhs, residents of this State, was convened by the Prabandhak Committee of the Takht, in the premises of the Gurudwara, which was also attended by the representatives of the Sikh Educational Conference, in which it was resolved that a College be established in the name of the said Guru, and a Board of Trustees was constituted for the said purpose, with Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia as President and Sardar Arjan Singh and Sardar Budh Singh as members of the Trust. A Land Sub-Committee of ten members and a Finance Sub-Committee of 16 members were also formed in the said meeting. The participants of the meeting contributed and promised a sum of Rs. 50,000, the money required to be deposited as security for affiliation of the said College and also agreed to make further contributions as and when required to meet the expenses on establishment, administration and maintenance of the College. A sum of Rs. 21,000 was contributed out of the funds of the Takht and another sum of Rs. 21,000 was donated by the Patna Transport owners, who were mainly Sikhs, and a sum of Rs. 15,000 was donated by the Patna City Punjabi Cloth Sellers, who are also mainly Sikhs. It is alleged that Dr. Dukhan Ram, the then Vice-Chancellor of the Bihar University who had participated in the 42nd Session of the All-India Sikh Educational Conference as an invitee, and also attended the meeting held on the 4th January, 1960, also made a donation of Rs. 250. A copy of the proceedings of the said meeting dated the 4th January, 1960, which was in Punjabi, transliterated into Devanagri script, has been filed as Annexure '2'. The Trustees and Members of the Prabandhak Committee and the Sikh people in a meeting held on the 4th January, 1960, constituted a Governing Body of 11 members, with Sardar Lakhmir Singh as President and Sardar Arjan Singh as the Secretary.