THE STATE OF BIHAR & OTHERS versus BHABAPRITANANDA OJHA

Citation: [1959] SUPP. 2 S.C.R. 624 · Decided: 15-04-1959 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SUDHI RANJAN DAS · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

I959 
State of Bihar 
v. 
Charusila Dasi 
S. J(. Da' ]. 
I959 
April I5. 
624 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1959] Supp. 
The result is that the appeal succeeds and is allowed 
with costs, the judgment and order of the High Court 
dated October 5, 1953, are set aside and the petition 
of Srimati Charusila Dasi must stand dismissed with 
costs. 
Appeal allowed. 
THE STATE OF BIHAR & OTHERS 
v. 
BHABAPRITAN ANDA OJHA 
(S. R. DAS, c. J., s. K. DAS, P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, 
K. N. WANCHOO and M. HIDAYATULLAH, JJ.) 
Hindu Religiou.s Trusts-Constitutional validity of Bihar 
Hindu Religious Trusts Act-Trust properties situate outside Bihar 
-Legislative competence-Scheme framed for Trust by Calcutta 
High Court-Applicability of Act to si<ch Trust-Bihar Hindn 
Religious Trusts Act, r950 (Bihar I of r95r), ~s. 3, 4(5), 28, 29-
Code of Civil Procedure, r908 (Act 5 of r908), s. 92-Constitution of 
India, Arts. r4, r9(r)(j), 25, 26, 27. 
• 
In respect of an ancient temple situate in the State of Bihar, 
disputes arose in 1897 between the high priest and the "pandas" 
regarding the control of the temple which ultimately led to a suit 
being filed under s. 539 (now s. 92) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 
in the Court of the District Judge of Burd wan and a decree was 
passed by the Additional District Judge, under which a scheme 
was framed for the proper management of the temple. The 
decree was confirmed by the Calcutta High Court and the scheme 
itself was later modified from time to time by the said Higl1 
Court. 
After the corning into force of the Bihar Hindu Reli-
gious Trusts Act, 1950, the President of the Bihar State Board 
of Religious Trusts, acting under s. 59 of the Act, served a notice 
on the respondent, who had been appointed Sardar Panda for 
the temple under the scheme, asking him to furnish a statement 
in respect of the temple and the properties appertaining thereto. 
The respondent made an application under Art. 226 of the Con-
stitution to the High Court of Patna challenging the validity of 
the action taken against him on the grounds (r) that the Bihar 
(2) S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPOR'l'S 
625 
Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950, was ultra vires the Bihar 
Legislature, (2) that the Bihar Legislature did not have legisla-
tive competence to deal with the temple in question as some of the 
properties appertaining to the temple were situate outside Bihar, 
and (3) that, in any case, the Act did not apply to the temple by 
reason of the fact t)lat the temple and its properties were 
administered under a scheme made by the Court of the District 
Judge of Burdwan and approved by the Calcutta High Court 
both of which were situate outside the territorial limits of Bihar, 
as otherwise the Act by some of its provisions would seek to 
interfere with the jurisdiction of courts which are outside Bihar 
and thereby get extra-territorial operation. 
Held: (1) that the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950, 
is intra vires the Bihar State Legislature ; 
lvlahant Moti Das v. S. P. Sahi, [1959] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 503 
followed. 
(2) that it is competent to the Bihar Legislature to legislate 
in respect of religious trusts situate in Bihar though some of the 
properties belonging to the trust may be outside Bihar; 
State of Bihar v. Charusila Dasi, [1959] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 6or 
followed. 
(3) that the provision of law in sub-s. (5) of s. 4 of the Act by 
which s. 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall not apply to any 
religious trust in the State of Bihar, is valid; and 
(4) that as under s. 4(5) of the Act religious trusts in Bihar 
are taken out of the purview of s. 92 of the Code of Civil Pro-
cedure, the jurisdiction of the District Judge of Burdwan or the 
Calcutta High Court to deal with the temple in question under s. 92 
comes to an end; consequently the Act and its several provisions 
do not suffer from the vice of extra-territoriality and the Act 
applies to the temple in question and the properties appertaining 
thereto. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 
236 of 1954. 
Appeal from the judgment and order dated October 
9, 1953, of the Patna High Court in Misc. Judicial 
Case No. 181 of 1953. 
Mahabir Prasad, Advocate-General for the State of 
Bihar, Bhagwat Prasad and S. P. Varma, for the 
appellants. 
P.R. Das, A .. 0. Roy and R.R. Biswas, for the res-
pondent. 
1959. April 15. The Judgment of the Court was 
delivered by 
79 
:c959 
The State of 
Bihar & Others 
v. 
Bhabapritananda 
Ojha 
I959 
The State of 
Biha1'

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.