LexSARDAR SARUP SINGH & OTHERS versus THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS
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(2) S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 499 as well as that of the Full Bench of the Punjab High '959 Court in Khair Mohammad Khan v. M st. J annat (1) 8 lk . h h d , , h h h a ris na support t e respon ents content10n t at w ere t e savalram Pujari impugned act amounts to ouster there is no scope for & others the application of s. 23 of the Limitation Act. We v. are therefore satisfied that there is no substance in Shree Dnyaneshwar ' ' M h . S th the appellants' contention that s. 23 helps to save' a ara; ans an I. 't t' .!.' h · · &- Others im1 a ion 1or t e1r smts. The result no doubt is unfortunate. The appellantscajendragadkar J. have succeeded in both the courts below in proving their rights as hereditary worshippers; but their claim must be rejected on the ground that they have filed their suits beyond time. In this court an attempt was made by the parties to see if this long drawn out litigation could be brought to an end on reasonable terms agreed to by them, but it did not succeed. In the result the appeals fail and are dismissed. We would, however, direct that the parties should bear their own costs throughout. Appeals dismissed. SARDAR SARUP SINGH & OTHERS v. THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS (S. R. DAS, c. J., N. H. BHAGWA'L'I, s. K. DAS, P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR and K. N. WANCHOO, JJ.) Fundamental rights, violation of-Sikh Gurdwaras-Election of Gurdwara Board-Statutory provision therefor, when affects reli- gion-Direct election by entire Sikh Community, if essential- " Matters of religion," Meaning of-Sikh Gurdwaras Act, r925 (Punjab 8 of r925), as amended by Punjab Act I of r959, ss. 43, 43A, r48B-Constitution of India, Art. 26(b}, (d). In 1925 the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, was passed, inter alia, for the better administration of certain Sikh Gurdwaras, and after the merger of the erstwhile State of Patiala and the East Punjab States Union, called Pepsu, with the State of Pun- jab, the Act was amended by the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Act, 1959, in order to extend the Act to the area which was for- merly within Pepsu. Under s. 43 of the Act, before it was amended in 1959, a Board had been constituted, called the Sikh (1) (1940) I.L.R. 22 Lah. 22, '959 April I. 500 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1959] Supp. 1959 Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, to act as the committee of management in respect of some of the principal Sikh Gurd- Sardar \Varas and in addition to exercise control, direction and general Sarup Singh superintendence over all committees appointed under the pro- v. visions of the Act; the Board consisted of three categories of State of Punjab members, namely (1) elected members, (2) certain designated members, and (3) co-opted members, which included per- sons residing in Pepsu and other parts of India. By the Amend- ing Act of 1959. s. r48B was added to the main Act, which pro- vided : " (r) As from the commencement of the Amending Act, in addition to the members of the Board constituted under s. 43 ......... (a) every person in the extended territories who, immediately before the commencement of the Amending Act, is a member of the Interim Gurdwara Board, Patiala, constituted by Punjab Government ......... shall be deemed to be a member of the Board, constituted under s. 43 ; and (b) thirty-five Sikhs including six Sikhs belonging to the Scheduled Castes residents in the extended territories ......... who shall ......... be elected by the persons specified in sub-s. (2) in accordance with the rules made in this behalf by the State Government, shall become the members of the Board ............ ". The petitioners who profess and practice the Sikh faith filed a petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution challenging the con- stitutional validity of s. r48B on the ground that the section violated the fundamental right granted under Art. 26(b) of the Constitution to every religious denomination or any section thereof including the Sikh denomination "to manage its own affairs in matters of religion". They contended, inter alia, (1) that the amending Act of 1959 was passed with a view that a particular group of Sikhs might not regain the majority it had lost on November 16, 1958, when the annual election of the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee was held; (2) that the mem- bers of the Interim Board, Patiala, who under s. 148B(1)(a) are deemed to be members of the Board constituted under s. 43, were appointed under a Punjab Gov
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