TMI Blog1982 (11) TMI 169X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on in Art. 26 of the Constitution. the administration of the property of a religious denomination is different from the right of the religious denomination to manage its own affairs in matters of religion and that laws may be made which regulate the right to administer the property of a religious denomination. Questions merely relating to administration of properties belonging to a religious group or institution are not matters of religion to which clause (b) of Art. 26 applies. We are, therefore, of the view that the Auroville Emergency Provisions Act which provides for the taking over the management of Auroville for a limited period does not offend the rights guaranteed by Arts. 25 and 26 of the Constitution. Appeal dismissed. - Writ Petition No. 5879 of 1980, Writ Petition No. 5877 of 1980 and Civil Appeal No. 2819 of 1980 - - - Dated:- 8-11-1982 - CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ), BHAGWATI, P.N., REDDY, O. CHINNAPPA, ERADI, V. BALAKRISHNA AND MISRA, R.B., JJ. For the Appellant: Soli J. Sorabji, K.K. Venugopal, S. Rangarajan, S. Balakrishnan, M.K.D. Namboodiry, P. Radhakrishnan, N.A. Subrahmaniam, C.S. Vaidyanathan, M.N. Krishna Mani and Vinnet Kumar, Catholic Bishop Con- - P.A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... up with religion, ethics has lost 'much of its point, much of its purpose and a major portion of its spontaneity'. I apprehend I share the views of those who have neither faith nor belief in religion and who consider religion as entirely unscientific and irrational. Chanting of prayer appears to me to be mere jingoism and observance of ritual, plain superstition. But my views about religion. my prejudices and my predilections, if they be such, are entirely irrelevant. So are the views of the credulous, the fanatic, the bigot and the zealot. So also the views of the faithful, the devout, the Acharya, the Moulvi, the Padre and the Bhikshu each of whom may claim his as the only true or revealed religion. For our present purpose, we are concerned with what the people of the Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic of India, who have given each of its citizens Freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propogate religion and who have given every religious denomination the right to freely manage its religious affairs, mean by the expression s'religion' and 'religious denomination'. We are concerned with what these expressions are designed to mean in Arts. 25 and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nstitution, but the Preamble does promise to secure to its citizens "Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship". The Freedom of conscience and the Right to profess, propagate and practice religion,flow of the idea so expressed in the Preamble. In Part-III of the Constitution, under the head "Right to Freedom of Religion", there are four Articles. Art25(i) guarantees to all persons, subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part-III of the Constitution, freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. Freedom of conscience is not to be separated from the Right to profess, practice and propagate religion. They go together and together they form part of the Right to Freedom of Religion. Clause (2) of Art. 25, however, stipulates that the freedom and the right guaranteed by cl. (1) shall not prevent the State from making any law regulating or restricting, any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice. Or to provide for social welfare and reform or to throw open Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them. Art. 29(2) provides that no citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them. Art. 30(1) guarantees to all minorities, whether based on religion or language the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Art. 30(2) further provides that the State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institutions on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language. It is readily seen that the several provisions of the Constitution where the expressions 'religion' and 'religious denomination' are used are either those which are concerned with equality and equal opportunity or those which are concerned with freedom of religion. Art. 15(1), Art. 16(2), Art. 23(2), Art. 29(2) are the several equality and equal opportunity clauses of the Constitution which bar discrimination on the ground of religion, and they place religion in equation with race, caste, sex, place of birt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e applicable to the institution known as Shirur Mutt, one of the eight Mutts situated at Udipi and reputed to have been founded by Shri Madhwa Charya, the renowned exponent of 'dualistic thesim' in the Hindu Religion. The trustees and the beneficiaries of the Mutt, it was claim and established, were the followers of Shri Madhwa Charya. The question arose whether the spiritual fraternity constituted by the followers of Shri Madhwa Charya could be said to be a 'religious denomination' within the meaning of Art. 26, entitling them to manage their own affairs in 'matters of religion'. The Court noticed that while cl. (b) of Art. 26 guaranteed to a religious denomination the right to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, other clauses of the Article dealt with the right of a religious denomination to acquire and own property and to administer such property in accordance with law. The administration of its property by a religious denomination having thus been placed on a different footing from the right to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, the Court said: "the latter is a Fundamental Right which no legislature can take away, whereas the former can be regu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... religious beliefs only, it extended to religious practices as well subject to the restrictions which the Constitution itself had laid down. Under Art. 26(b) he said, a religious denomination or organisation enjoyed complete autonomy in the matter of deciding as to what rites and ceremonies were essential according to the tenets of their religion they held and no outside authority had any jurisdiction to interfere with their decision in such matters. But, he said, the scale of expenses to be incurred in connection with the religious observances would be a matter of administration of property belonging to the religious denomination and to be controlled by secular authorities in accordance with any law laid down by a competent legislature. He added, "It should be noticed, however, that under Art. 26 (d), it is the Fundamental Right of a religious denomination or its representative to administer its properties in accordance with the law; and the law, therefore, must leave the right of administration to the religious denomination itself, subject to such restrictions and regulations as it might choose to impose a law which takes away the right of administration from the hand ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ombay and Ors.(1) was decided by five of the Learned Judges who constituted the Bench which decided the Shirur Mutt case. What was said in the Shirur Mutt was reiterated and it was again emphasised that religion was not merely an opinion, doctrine or belief and that it had its outward expression in acts as well. The following observations of Davar J, in Jamshedjee v. Sunnabal(2) were approved: "If this is the belief of the community, and it is proved undoubtedly to be the belief of the Zoroastrian community,-a secular judge is bound to accept that belief-it is not for him to sit in judgment on that belief, he is not right to interfere with the conscience of a donor who makes a gift in favour of what he believes to be the advancement of his religion and the welfare of his community or mankind". I have stated almost at the outset that judges' faith or lack of faith in religion is irrelevant in deciding what are matters of religion. In the Durgah Committee Ajmer v. Syed Hussain Ali others(3) the Court reiterated the position that the freedom guaranteed by Art. 25(1) was not only the right to entertain such religious beliefs as my appeal to his conscience but also afforded him the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and separate from the Hindu Religion. It is obvious that religion, undefined by the Constitution, is incapable of precise judicial definition either. In the background of the provisions of the Constitution and the light shed by judicial precedent, we may say religion is a matter of faith. It is a matter of belief and doctrine. It concerns the conscience i.e. the spirit of man. It must be capable of overt expression in word and deed, such as, worship or ritual. So, religion is a matter of belief and doctrine, concerning the human spirit, expressed overtly in the form of ritual and worship. Some religions are easily identifiable as religions, some are easily identifiable as not religions. There are many in the penumbral region which instinctively appear to some as religion and to others as not religions. There is no formula of general application. There is no knife-edge test. Primarily, it is a question of the consciousness of the community, how does the fraternity or sodality (if it is permissible to use the word without confining it to Roman Catholic groups) regard itself, how do others regard the fraternity or sodality. A host of other circumstances may have to be considered, su ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... word of which is not to be weighed in golden scales. Law has a tendency to harden with the passage of time and judicial pronouncements are made to assume the form of statutory pronouncements. So soon as a word or expression occur in the statute is judicially defined, the tendency is to try to interpret the language employed by the judges in the judicial definition as if it has been transformed into a statutory definition. That is wrong. Always, words and expressions to be interpreted are those employed in the statute and not those used by judges for felicitous explanation. Judicial definition, we repeat, is explanatory and not definitive. One remark requires to be added here. Religious denomination has not to owe allegiance to any parent religion. The entire following of a religion may be no more than the religious denomination. This may particularly be so in the case of small religious groups or `developing' religions, that is, religions in the formative stage. We may now consider whether Aurobindoism-if one may be excused for using the word `Aurobindoism' to describe what Shri Aurobindo taught and practised and what he was understood by his followers to have taught and practis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e first incarnate manifestation of super-beings whose evolution he prophesied, and apprently he did not discourage this belief. After his death, the leadership of the Aurobindo Ashram was taken over by "the Mother", Mme Mira Richard, a French-woman who had been one of his leading disciples." The Encyclopaedia Brittanica refers to Aurobindo again under the head `Idealism' and says : "Aurobindo, reinterpreting the Indian Idealistic heritage in the light of his own Western education, rejected the maya doctrine of illusion, replacing it with the concept of evolution, aguring that the "illumination of individuals will lead to the emergence of a divine community". Aurobindo founded the influential Pondicherry Ashram, a religious and philosophical community, and headed it until his death." The Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (1972 Edition) says, "Shri Aurobindo was an Indian metaphysician and founder of new religious movement with head-quarters at Pondicherry-The religious movement associated with him has increased its following in India, and has made some converts in the West.........God must `descent' into human experience. This illumination of individual will lead to the emerg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... understand the niceties of the metaphysical exercises involved. We do not desire to enter into any polemics over Shri Aurobindo's teachings as it is not within the judicial province to do so except to the limited extent of finding out whether his teachings have the necessary spiritual content to qualify as religious doctrine and how his followers understood those teachings. So, we refrain from quoting Shri Aurobindo. But this fact stands out prominently that whatever else he was, he truly was a religious teacher and taught and was understood to have taught new religious doctrine and practice. I fail to see why `Aurobindoism' cannot be classified, if not as a new religion, as a new sect of Hinduism and why the followers of Shri Aurobindo cannot be termed a religious denomination. Shri Aurobindo, of course, disclaimed that he was founding a religion. No great religious teacher ever claimed that he was founding a new religion or a new school of religious thought. The question is not whether Shri Aurobindo refused to claim or denied that he was founding a new religion or a new school of religious thought but whether his disciples and the community thought so. There is no doubt that t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f funds for the setting up of a cultural township known as Auroville, where people of different countries are expected to live together in harmony in one community and are expected to engage in cultural, educational, scientific and other pursuits aiming at human unity." xxx "AND WHEREAS Auroville was developed as a cultural township with the aid of funds received from different organisations in and outside India as also from the substantial grants received from the Central and State Governments; AND WHEREAS pursuant to the complaints received with regard to the misuse of funds by Sri Aurobindo Society, a committee was set up under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant-Governor of Pondicherry with representatives of the Government of Tamil Nadu and of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Central Government, and the said committees had, after a detailed scrutiny, of the accounts of Shri Aurobindo Society, found instances of serious irregularities in the management of the said Society, misutilisation of its funds and their diversion to other purposes ; AND WHEREAS in view of the serious difficulties which have arisen with regard to the management of Auroville, it is nec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s disciples and followers in the pursuit of one of the ideas and ideals of Shri Aurobindo, a great religious teacher. On the other hand, the ideal itself, that is, the promotion of international understanding and world peace is by no means a religious ideal and it was because of the nature of the ideal that the Government of India and the UNESCO adopted the project. Shri Aurobindo himself was not a mere religious teacher. He was a visionary, a humanist and a nationalist who had blossomed into an internationalist. It appears, therefore, that Auroville, though the child of the Mother and though nurtured by the devotees of Shri Aurobindo, has an individuality, distinctly secular, of its own. The management of the International, cultural township of Auroville is not, in our opinion, a matter of religion. We have mentioned earlier that laws regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice are excluded from the guarantee of freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. We have also pointed out that the administration of the property of a religious denomination i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... realise the meaning of his life. It is this perennial urge in man that inspires him to indulge in great creative activities. He creates great cultures and civilisations and tries to realise the meaning and value of life in and through them. To the biologist life is indefinable. It cannot be defined in terms of any things. The biologists have, however, explained and illustrated characteristics of life. But no formulation of the nature and characteristics of life has won general acceptance. It means that the insignia of life have not as yet been comprehended fully. Life has not been viewed in its proper perspective. It still seems to be a riddle, a mystery. Life appears to be a mystery not only to the scientists but also to the philosophers. Philosophers may be said to be rather more conscious of the difficulties that the concept of life involves than the scientists. A philosopher is also aware of the fact that unless one is able to fathom the depths of life and has a full comprehension of its nature, one cannot understand and determine the nature of human personality and its destiny. Similar other deeper and ultimate problems of life have been agitating the mind of seers and ph ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xpanding horizon of knowledge, it begins to lose its ground and shrink into a mere cult of only historical importance, it becomes fossilised and is liable to crumble at the vital touch of the present. Our scriptures proclaimed from the very start that there is only one reality in the world which is described in different ways : "Ekam Sad Wipra Bahuda Vadanti." One of such Indian sages and philosophers was Sri Aurobindo. He was born on August 15, 1872 in Calcutta. When he was barely seven years old he was taken to England for education. In view of his amazing ability in learning languages he was offered scholarship to join Kings College, Cambridge. There he distinguished himself by his extraordinary ability to compose Greek and Latin verses. He is said to have won all the prizes for the year in Kings College for Greek and Latin verses. He sailed for India in 1893 and settled down at Baroda. He served in several capacities in Baroda State, sometimes as an administrator and at others as Professor of French and English. During his stay there he learnt Sanskrit. The years from 1902 to 1910 were stormy ones for Sri Aurobindo as he embarked on a course of action to free I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... suit of science, literature and fine arts; (vii)To enquire, purchase, build, construct or take on lease or in exchange or hire any movable or immovable property, or gifts or privileges; and (viii)Generally to do all other acts, deeds and things necessary, conductive, suitable or incidental to or for the attainment of the above objects or any of them or part of them. The management of the Society vested in its Executive Committee. Rules and regulations have been duly framed for the management of the Society and also for safe custody and protection of its assets, properties and funds. Sri Aurobindo Society (hereinafter referred to as 'the Society') preaches and propagates the ideals and teachings of Sri Aurobindo inter alia through its numerous centres scattered throughout India by way of weekly meetings of its members. The Mother as the founder-president also conceived of a project of setting up a cultural township known as 'Auroville' where people of different countries are expected to engage in cultural, educational and scientific and other pursuits aiming at human unity. The Society has been a channel of funds for setting up the cultural township known as Auroville. At th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... project and considering the government's involvement in actively sponsoring the project through UNESCO, the growth and management of the project had become the primary responsibility of the Government of India. The ideals of the project formed India's highest aspirations, which could not be allowed to be defeated or frustrated. Sri Aurobindo Society had lost complete control over the situation and the members of the Auroville approached the Government of India to give protection against oppression and victimisation at the hands of the said Society. There were internal quarrels between the various factions of Sri Aurobindo Society. There have also been instances of law and order situation. Financial management of the project has not been sound and several instances of mismanagement, diversion of funds have been revealed. A large sum of money was given by Sri Aurobindo Society to AURO Construction-an agency whose status is not at all defined, whose functions and capabilities for taking up large construction works also had not been made known. The Government in the circumstances could not be a silent spectator to the mismanagement of the project and intereine quarrels amongst its memb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he West Bengal Act contains in built self contained provisions for dealing with the mismanagement of the registered societies. The West Bengal Act is a legislation exclusively relatable to Entry 32 of List II of Seventh Schedule. The provisions of the West Bengal Act apply to the Society as is evident from section 2(f) and (g) of the impugned Act. Section 4(2) of the impugned Act, however, excludes the application of certain provisions of the West Bengal Act to the Society and declares that the provisions of the West Bengal Act will continue to apply to the Society subject however, to such exclusions. Section 8(2) provides that on relinquishment of management by the Central Government the management of the property of the Society forming part or relatable to Auroville shall vest in the Governing Body of the Society and shall be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the West Bengal Act. Section 11 of the impugned Act gives over-riding effect to the impugned Act over all other Acts (including the West Bengal Act) and instruments thereunder. Therefore, the object and purpose of the impugned Act is to take away the management of Auroville from the Society and to bring it un ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... entry 49 List II ? and secondly, if it is not, it is beyond the legislative competence of Parliament ? The positive case of the petitioners is that the subject matter of the impugned Act is covered by entry 32, List II of the Seventh Schedule. The Solicitor General for the Union of India, however, tried to bring the impugned Act within the four corners of item 44, List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. It may be pointed out at the very outset that the function of the Lists is not to confer powers. They merely demarcate the legislative fields. The entries in the three Lists are only legislative heads or fields of legislation and the power to legislate is given to appropriate legislature by Articles 245 and 248 of the Constitution. It would be appropriate at this stage to read entry 32, List II and entry 44, List I of the Seventh Schedule : Entry 32, List II "Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, other than those specified in List I, and universities ; unincorporated trading, literary, scientific, religious and other societies and associations; co-operative societies." Entry 44, List I: "Incorporation, regulation and winding up of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... corporated society, therefore, it must come under the second part of entry 32 of List II. Reliance was placed in this case on Taff Vale Railway v. Amalgamated Society of Servants.(2) The petitioners also rely on Katra Educational Society v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors.(3) In that case also the appellant was a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 21 of 1860, which conducts an educational institution styled 'Dwarka Prasad Girls Intermediate College' at Allahabad. The management of the affairs of the society was entrusted by the memorandum of association to an executive committee whose membership was confined to the members of the society. The Intermediate Education Act was subsequently passed by the State Legislature. Section 8 of the Act authorised the State Government to promulgate regulations in respect of matters covered by sections 16A to 161 of the Act. The Regional Inspector of Girls Schools called upon the society to submit and get approved a scheme of administration of the institution managed by it. The sections were later on modified by subsequent amendment. The society challenged the Act on the ground that it was beyond the legislative competence of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... funds for the setting up of the cultural township of Auroville and has been managing some aspects of Auroville, does not bring Auroville under the domain of the West Bengal Act. The right of management of property is itself a property right. The Solicitor General also tried to bring the subject matter of the impugned legislation under various other entries of List I or List III of the Seventh Schedule viz., entries 10, 20, 41 and 42 of List III and entry 10 of List I. But it is not necessary for us to examine whether the subject matter of the impugned legislation falls under any of the entries of List I or List III if once we hold that the subject matter does not fall within the ambit of any of the entries of List II. Even if the subject matter of the impugned legislation is not covered by any specific entry of List I or List III, it will be covered by the residuary entry 97 of List I. In our opinion the impugned Act even incidentally does not trench upon the field covered by the West Bengal Act as it is in no way related to constitution, regulation and winding up of the Society In R.C. Cooper v. Union(1) it was laid down that a law relating to the business of a corporation is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inion is final. The principle of Dharma is hidden in a cave. The path of the virtuous persons is the only proper course.) The expression 'Religion' has, however, been sought to be defined in the 'Words and Phrases', Permanent Edn., 36 A, p. 461 onwards, as given below: "Religion is morality, with a sanction drawn from a future state of rewards and punishments. The term 'religion' and 'religious' in ordinary usage are not rigid concepts. 'Religion' has reference to one's views of his relations to his Creator and to the obligations they impose of re-verence for his being and character, and of obedience to his will. The word 'religion' in the primary sense (from 'religare, to rebind-bind back), imports, as applied to moral questions, only a recognition of a conscious duty to obey restraining principles of conduct. In such sense we suppose there is no one who will admit that he is without religion. 'Religion' is bond uniting man to God, and virtue whose purpose is to render God worship due him as source of all being and principle of all government of things. 'Religion' has reference to man's relation to divinity; to the moral obligation of reverence and worship, obedie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur MUtt(1) where in the following proposition of law have been laid down: (1) Religion means "a system of beliefs or doctrines which are regarded by those who profess that religion as conducive to their spiritual well- being". (2) A religion is not merely an opinion, doctrine or belief. It has its outward expression in acts as well. (3) Religion need not be theistic. (4) "Religious denomination" means a religious sect or body having a common faith and organisation and designated by a distinctive name. (5) A law which takes away the rights of administration from the hands of a religious denomination altogether and vests in another authority would amount to violation of the right guaranteed under clause (d) of Art. 26." The aforesaid propositions have been consistently followed in later cases including The Durgah Committee, Ajmer Anr. v. Syed Hussain Ali Ors(1) and can be regarded as well settled. The words "religious denomination" in Article 26 of the Constitution must take their colour from the word 'religion' and if this be so, the expression "religious denomination ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o become divine. D Thus, according to Sri Aurobindo's theory of cosmic salvation the paths of union with Brahman are two way streets or channels. Enlightenment comes to man from above while the spiritual mind (supermind) of man strives through yogic illumination to reach upwards from below. When these two forces blend in an individual agnostic man is created. This yogic illumination transcends both reason and intuition and eventually leads to the freeing of the individual from the hands of individuality and by exclusion of all mankind, will eventually achieve Mukti or liberation. Sri Aurobindo created a dialectic mode of salvation not only for individual but for all mankind. Energy or Sachidananda (existence, consciousness and joy) comes down from Brahma to meet energy from the supermind of man striving upwards towards his spirituality (antithesis) and melts in man to create a new spiritual superman (synthesis). From these divine beings a divine universe is also evolved. The Divine, though one, has two aspects-one is static and the other dynamic. The dynamic side of the Divine is the energy or the creative side. People in the past realised only the static aspect of the Divine and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... progress towards a Light which brings knowledge, power, happiness! love, beauty and even physical immortality. The Divine is the essence of the whole universe and to realise and possess Him should be the supreme aim of human life. To acquire all the qualities of the Divine is the final purpose of Nature's evolution. 777 The soul progresses by gathering experience in the ordinary life but A it is a very long, slow and devious process from birth to birth. Yoga hastens the soul's development. The progress that can be made in any lives is made in a few years by the help of Yoga. The Yoga of Sri Aurobindo is called the 'Integral Yoga' or the 'Supermental Yoga'. The Yogas of the past were only of ascent to the Spirit. Sri Aurobindo's Yoga is both of ascent and descent. One can realise the Divine in consciousness by the old Yogas but cannot establish the Divine on earth in a collective no less than in an individual physical life. In the old Yogas the world was considered either an illusion or a transitional phase: it had no prospect of having all the terms of its existence fulfilled. Sri Aurobindo on the other hand says that the world is a real creation of the Divine and life in it can ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... It was further contended that the words "religion' and 'religious denomination' must not be construed in the narrow, restrictive and orthodox or traditional sense but must be given a broad meaning. It may be observed that in the case of The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt (supra) different sects and sub. sects of the Hindu religion founded by various religious teachers were called a religious denomination on the ground that they being part of Hindu religion would also be designated as a religious denomination if the followers of Hindu religion constituted a religious denomination as the part must bear the impress of the whole. This observation was in this content. The other case taking a similar view viz. Nalam Ramalingayya v. The Commissioner of Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments, Hyderabad (supra) is also based on the same ground. For the petitioners it was further submitted that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were adverse to 'religion' as 'Religiosity" and "Religionism" but not lo "True Religion". Reference was made to various writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother: Sri Aurobindo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... becomes dogmatic and tends to create a religion. (MCV No. 13. p. 22) "Imagine someone who, in some way or other has heard of something like the Divine or has a personal feeling that something of the kind exists, and begins to make all sorts of efforts, efforts of will, of discipline, efforts of concentration, all sorts of efforts to find this Divine, to discover what he is, to become acquainted with Him and unite with Him. Then this person is doing Yoga. Now if this person has noted down all the processes he has used and constructs a fixed system, and sets up all that he has discovered is absolute laws-for example he says, the Divine is like this, to find the Divine you must do this, make this particular gesture, take this attitude, perform this ceremony and you must admit that this is the truth, you must say "I accept that this is the Truth and I fully adhere to it; and your method is the only right one, the only one which exists"- if all that is written down, organised arranged into fixed laws and ceremonies, it becomes a religion. (MCV No. 8, p. 147) Sri Aurobindo "You express your faith in Sri Aurobindo with certain words, which are for you the best expression ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 08-9) observes: "Sri Aurobindo was an Indian metaphysician and founder of a new religious movement with headquarters at Pondichery. The religious movement associated with him has increased its following in India, and has made some converts in the West......... God must 'descend' into human experience. This illumination of individual will lead to the emergence of a divinised community,...Aurobindo produced a synthesis between older Indian religious ideas and the world affirming attitudes of Christian theism." The Encyclopaedia Brittanica talking about Sri Aurobindo says: "Sri Aurobindo devoted himself to discover the way by which the Universe might be made divine...Sri Aurobindo has been acclaimed as the prophet of the Superman, as the hierophant of the 'new age'......He has called his stand point that of a spiritual religion of humanity." The Dictionary of Comparative Religion (1970 ed., p. 117) mentions: "According to Aurobindo, there is a progressive evolution of the divine Being through matter no higher spiritual forms, and the Aurobindo movement is held to represent vanguard of this evolutionary process in our own times. Aurobindo practised and t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e could accept and reject parts. He offered an integral system based upon an integral vision. He offered. as well, the vision itself." (Sri Aurobindo: The Perfect and the Good, 177) 784 And, the opinions of similar other professors of religion and philosophers have been quoted to show that the teachings of Sri Aurobindo have been treated as religion by theologians and by professors and by important news agencies. The interpretations of the term 'religion' used in different Acts were also referred to but it is not necessary to refer to them as we are to interpret the term 'religion' and 'religious denomination, with references to Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. Mr. S. Rangarajan appearing for the petitioners in one of the other writ petitions substantially adopted the contentions raised by Mr. Soli Sorabjee and further supplemented the same by raising the following points. According to him the ingredients of religion are . (1) A spiritual ideal; (2) A set of concepts or precepts on God-Man relationship underlying the ideal: (3) A methodology given or evolved by the founder or followers of the religion to achieve the ideal; and (4) A definite following of person ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... taken to be a religious denomination within the meaning of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. The Solicitor-General for the Union of India and Mr. F.S. Nariman, counsel for the respondents Nos. 6 to 238, on the other hand contended that the teachings of Sri Aurobindo do not constitute religion nor is the Society and the Auroville a religious denomination, and in any case there is no violation of Article 26 of the Constitution inasmuch as the impugned Act has taken over only the management of Auroville from the Society and does not interfere with the freedom contemplated by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. . H Reference was made to rule 9 of the Rules and Regulations of Sri Aurobindo Society, which deals with membership of the Society and provides: "9. Any person or institution or organisation either in India or abroad who subscribes to the aims and objects of the Society, and whose application for member ship is approved by the executive Committee, will be member of the Society. The membership is open to people everywhere without any distinction of nationality, religion, caste, creed or sex." The only condition for membership is that the person seeking ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... picked up from books. Objective studies on the effects of meditation on human body and mind is a modern observation and has been studied by various investigation at MEERU-Maharishi European Research University. Its tranquilizing effect on body and mind, ultimately leading to the greater goal of Cosmic Consciousness or universal awareness, has been studied by using over a hundred parameters. Transcendental Meditation practised for IS minutes in the morning and evening every day brings about a host of beneficial effects. To name only a few: 1. Body and mind get into a state of deep relaxation. 2. B.M.R. drops, loss oxygen is consumed. F 3. E.E.G. shows brain wave coherence with 'alpha' wave preponderance. 4. Automatic stability increases. G 5. Normalisation of high blood pressure. 6. Reduced use of alcohol and tobacco. 7. Reduced stress, hence decreased plasma cortisol and blood lactate. H 8. Slowing of the heart etc." This Court dealing with punishment in a criminal case in Giasuddin v. A . P. State([1978] 1 SCR 153 @ 164) again observed: "There is a spiritual dimension to the first page of our Constitution which projects into penology. Indian courts may draw in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d nongovernmental organisations to participate in the development of Auroville as an international cultural township designed to bring together the values of different cultures and civilisations in harmonious environment. The foundation stone of Auroville was laid on 28 February 1968 with the participation of youth or many nations, representing the coming together of all Nations in a spirit of human unity. The UNESCO conceived Auroville township as an instrument of education, promoting mutual respect and understanding between people in keeping with the spirit of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Universal Declaration of Principles of International Cultural Cooperation. The Government of India took active part in making the 1 UNESCO interested in the project and take decision as aforesaid for the development of Auroville as an international cultural township with the participation of countries who are members of the UNESCO. Sri Aurobindo Society had brought the proposal of Auroville to the Government of India and explained that Auroville was to be an international cultural township. This fact is evident from the brochure submitted by Sri Aurobindo Society to the Governme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... certain psychological practices of concentration and meditation, etc., for the enlarging of the consciousness, receptivity to the Truth, mastery over the desires, the discovery of the divine self and consciousness concealed within each human being, a higher evolution of the nature." Sri Aurobindo himself said(1): "I may say that it is far from my purpose to propagate any religion, new or old." Sri Aurobindo says again(2): "We are not a party or a church or religion," Sri Aurobindo exposes(3): "Churches and creeds have, for example, stood violently in the way of philosophy and science, burned a Giordano Bruno, imprisoned a Galileo, and so generally misconducted themselves in this matter that philosophy and science had a self-defence to turn upon Religion and rend her to pieces in order to get a free field for their legitimate development." The Mother said on 19.3.1973: "Here we do not have religion." Sri Aurobindo says again(4): "Yogic methods have some thing of the same relation to the customary psychological workings of man as has to scientific handling of the natural force of electricity or of steam to the normal operations of steam and of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iritual, psychic, mental, vital and physical; to help in cash or in kind by why of donations etc.; to organise, encourage, promote and assist in the study, research, and pursuit of science literature and fine arts etc. Nowhere it talks of propagating religion. This is the surest index to know whether the Auroville or the Society was a religious A institution. It was further contended that a religious denomination must be professed by that body but from the very beginning the Society has eschewed the word 'religion' in its constitution. The Society professed to be a scientific research organisation to the donors and got income-tax exemption on the footing that it was not a religious institution. The Society has claimed exemption from income- tax under s. 80 for the donors and under s. 35 for itself on that ground. Ashram Trust was different from Auroville Ashram. The Ashram Trust also applied for income-tax exemption and got it on that very ground. So also Aurobindo Society claimed exemption on the footing that it was not a religious institution and got it. They professed to the Government also that they were not a religious institution in their application for financial assistanc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pects of Article 26 of the Constitution this Court observed as follows: "The other thing that remains to be considered in regard to article 26 is, what is the scope of clause tb) of the article which speaks of management of its own affairs in matters of religion ? "The language undoubtedly suggests that there could be other affairs of a religious denomination or a section thereof which are not matters of religion and to which the guarantee given by this clause would not apply............ It will be seen that besides the right to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, which is given by clause (b), the next two clauses of article 26 guarantee to a religious denomination the right to acquire and own property and to administer such property in accordance with law. The administration of its property by a religious denomination has thus been placed on a different footing from the right to manage its own affairs in matters of A religion. The latter is a fundamental right which no legislature can take away, whereas the former can be regulated by laws which the legislature can validly impose. It is clear, therefore, that questions merely relating to administration of properties belo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ants who were the followers of the Swaminarayan sect and known as satsangis, filed a representative suit for a declaration that the relevant provisions of the Bombay Harijan Temple Entry Act, 1947 (as amended by Act 77 of 1948) did a not apply to their temples because, the religion of the Swaminarayan sect was distinct and different from Hindu religion and because, the relevant provisions of the Act were ultra vires. Dealing with the question this Court observed as will appear from the headnote: "The Indian mind has consistently through the ages been exercised over the problem of the nature of godhead, the problem that faces the spirit at the end of life, and the interrelation between the individual and the universal soul. According to Hindu religion the ultimate goal of humanity is release and freedom from the unceasing cycle of births and rebirths and a state of absorption and assimilation of the individual soul with the infinites. On the means to attain this and there is a great divergence of views; some emphasise the importance of Gyana, while others extol the virtue of Bhakti or devotion, yet others insist upon the paramount importance of the performance of duti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Vedas with reverance, recognition of the fact that the path of Bhakti or devotion leads to Moksha, insistence or devotion to Lord Krishna and a determination to remove corrupt practices and restore Hindu religion to its original glory and purity. This shows unambiguously and unequivocally that Swaminarayan was a Hindu saint. Further, the facts that initiation is necessary to become a Satsangi, that persons of other religions could join the sect by initiation without any process of proselytising on such occasions, and that Swaminarayan himself is treated as a God, are not inconsistent with the basic Hindu religious and philosophic theory." In Digyadarsan Rajendra Ramdassji Varu v. State of Andfhra Pradesh and Anr.(1)dealing with Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution this Court on the facts and circumstances of the case held: "It has nowhere been established that the petitioner has been prohibited or debarred from professing practising and propagating his religion. A good deal material has been placed on the record to show that the entire math is being guarded by police constables but that does not mean that the petitioner cannot be allowed to enter the math prem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... istinct common faith and common spiritual organisation and the belief in a particular religious teacher of philosophy on which the religious denomination is founded or based, that is the essence of the matter, but not any caste, or sub-caste or a particular deity worship by a particular caste or community." In United States v. Danial Andrew Seegar(2) the U.S. Supreme Court had to construe the provisions of s. 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1948 which, as a prerequisite of exempting a conscientious objector from military service, requires l? his belief in a relation to a Supreme Being involving duties superior to those arising from any human relation. Defendant's claim to exemption as conscientious objector was denied after he, professing religious belief and faith and not disavowing, although not clearly demonstrating any belief in a relation to a Supreme Being, stated that "the cosmic order does, perhaps, suggest a creative intelligence" and decried the tremendous "spiritual" price man must pay for his willingness to destroy human life. The expression 'Supreme Being' was liberally construed. The Court dealing with the idea of God quoted from various ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ight which no legislature can take away, whereas the former can be regulated by laws which the legislature can validly impose. It is clear, therefore, that questions merely relating to a religious group or institution are not matters of religion to which clause (b) of the article applies. The impugned Act had not taken away the right of management in matters of religion of a religious denomination, if the Society or Auroville is a religious denomination at all, rather it has taken away the right of management of the property of Auroville. Thus the impugned Act neither violates Article 25, nor Article 26 of the Constitution. The impugned Act was also feebly sought to be challenged as violating Arts. 29 and 30 of the Constitution. We are at a loss to understand how these two articles have any bearing on the impugned Act. These two articles confer four distinct rights: (i) Right of any section of citizens to conserve its own language, script or culture (Art. 29(1)). (ii) Right of all religious or linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Art. 30(I)). (iii) Right of an educational institution not to be dis criminated against in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... served, improved and strengthened. It is, therefore, that Art. 30(I) confers on all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. The minorities, quite understandably, regard it as A essential that the education of their children should be in accordance with the teachings of their religion, and they hold, quite honestly, that such an education cannot be obtained in ordinary schools designed for all the members of the public but can only be secured in schools conducted under the influence and guidance of people well versed in the tenets of their religion and in the traditions of their culture. The minorities evidently desire that education should be imparted to the children of their community . in an atmosphere congenial to the growth of their culture. our Constitution makers recognised the validity of their claim and to allay their fears conferred on them the fundamental rights referred to above. But the conservation of the distinct languages, script or culture is not the only object of choice of the minority communities. They also desire that scholars of their educational institutions should go ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the institution and is conducive to making the institution an effective vehicle of education for the minority community or other persons who resort to it." In State of Kerala v. Mother Provincial(l) the provisions of the Kerala University Act, 1969 which was passed to reorganise the University of Kerala with a view to establishing a teaching, residential and affiliating University for the southern districts of the State of Kerala, were challenged. Some of the provisions effected private colleges, particularly those founded by minority communities in the State. Their constitutional validity was challenged by some members of those communities on various grounds in writ petitions filed in the High Court. This Court held: "The minority institutions cannot he allowed to fall below the standards of excellence expected of educational institutions, or under the guise of exclusive right of management, to decline to follow the general pattern. While the management must be left to them, they may be compelled to keep in step with others." On an analysis of the two articles, Art. 29 and Art. 30 and the three cases referred to above, it is evident that the impugned Act does not see ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nderstanding that the exemption from income-tax was granted to the Society and it is through this exemption that the Society, had collected a huge amount from the public. For the first few years the development of Auroville showed a remarkable progress and development and things were growing at a rapid pace. A number of Indians and foreigners settled down in Auroville and devoted themselves to various activities of planning, designing, agriculture, education, construction and other works such as those of hand-made paper and other crafts and industries. A remarkable harmony among members of Auroville was visible and this gave a promise to the Government of India of an early fulfillment of the ideals for which Auroville was established and encouraged by UNESCO and other international organisations of the world. After the passing away of the Mother in 1973, however, the situation changed and the Government received information that the affairs of the Society were not being properly managed, that there was mismanagement of the funds of the Society and diversion of the funds meant for Auroville to other purposes. The accounts of Sri Aurobindo Society were audited upto the year endin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rnational importance, the substantial grants of the order of more than Rs. 90 lakhs given by the Government of India and the State Governments towards the fulfillment of the ideals of Auroville, the presence of a large number of foreigners in Auroville who had left their hearth and home for Auroville which had received sponsorship from Indian Government and UNESCO, the continued groupism and infighting which was bringing bad name to Auroville and the special responsibility of the Government of India in regard p to the foundation and development-of Auroville, the Government of India decided to set up a committee under the Chairmanship of the Lt. Governor of Pondichery with the Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs as members by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India, dated 21st December, 1976. The above Committee got a quick audit made of the funds of the Society and the grants given to the Society for Auroville through a team of competent auditors. An important finding of this Committee was that the earlier apprehension about instances of serious irregularities in the management of the Society, misutilis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntre in Dec. 1973 at a total cost of over Rs. 2 lacs and the Health Centre started functioning from Dec. 1973 the Society had not furnished the utilisation certificates in the prescribed form nor was the completion report duly certified by the PWD authorities Rs. One lac was stated to have been received for the Project of World University"-and the money was stated to be utilised. There is no such World University in Auroville. A difference of Rs. 1,29,848/- was noticed in the case of the value of a piece of land purchased-the value of the land said to have been purchased and not entered in the register was Rs. 88,5261/-and the amount said to have been paid in excess of the value for the land actually purchased was Rs. 31,322. The operation of purchase of lands was through individuals who were given huge sums of money as advances. It was noticed that in one transaction an amount of Rs. 43,250/-representing the balance out of advance paid to one V. Sunderamurthy was adjusted as being the cost of stamp papers used during 1971. The said individual had already taken into account the cost of stamp papers whilst adjusting all other advances during 1971. The voucher for this amount als ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he material purchased was actually received by the project, whether the quantity which was shown as having been utilised for the construction has been actually so utilised and the balance of stores which represented by the value was the real balance representing the various stock items. Huge amounts of cash were being handled by persons operating the main account and the number of individuals who were given advances-there was no system under which cash could be verified at any interval. Even apart from the audit report, one very important point may be mentioned. The Society has been claiming that they have been holding more than Rs. 20 lacs in reserve in the account of Aurobindo Society to meet their obligations with regard to Auroville. And yet the Society has incurred heavy debts in the name of Auroville and allocated huge accumulation of interest to the extent of Rs. 20 lacs." The Committee came to the conclusion that the time was ripe for taking recourse two either of the following two alternatives: (a) Incorporation of Sri Auroville Society by a statute as a society of national importance and bringing it under Entry 63 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and the Ministry of Home Affairs took decision on six major points. One of the points on which decision was taken was that there were no legal grounds for takeover of Auroville and neither the Government was interested. This decision, among others was later on endorsed by the respective Union Ministers. The report submitted by Mr. P. P. Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, who visited Pondichery and Auroville on a fact finding mission from 8th to 10th October, 1980, contained the following A observations: "All along the view of the Ministry of Home Affairs has been that there is no case of takeover of the administration of Auroville. This is an internal matter and the Government need not interfere. The Government of Tamil Nadu should be asked to depute two officers to help the Shri Aurobindo Society for administering the finances and the administration." The contention of Mr. Venugopal is that the audit report had once been considered and the Government did not choose to take any further steps on assurance given on the behalf of the Society that the irregularities pointed out by the audit report will be rectified and proper management would be carrie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erted towards other purposes and the atmosphere was getting out of hand. In the circumstances the Government intervened and promulgated the ordinance and later on substituted it by the impugned enactment. It cannot be said that it is violative of Article 14 on that account. We get support for our view from the following decisions. In Budhan Chowdhury v. The State of Bihar(l) a Constitution Bench of seven Judges of this Court explained the true meaning and scope of Article 14 as follows: "It is now well established that while article 14 forbids class legislation, it does not forbid reasonable classification for the purposes of legislation. In order, however, to pass the test of permissible classification two conditions must be fulfilled, namely (i) that the classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together from others left out of the group and, (ii) that the differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the statute in question. The classification may be founded on different bases, namely, geographical, or according to objects or occupation or the like, What is necessary is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at half the usual rates. The Bihar Legislature passed an Act called the Sathi Lands (Restoration) Act, 1950 which declared that, notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force the settlement granted to the appellants shall be null and void and that no party to the settlement or his successors in interest shall be deemed to have acquired any right or incurred any liability thereunder, and empowered the Collector to eject the appellants if they refused to restore the lands. The appellants challenged the constitutionality of the Act under Article 226. This Court held: "The dispute between the appellants and the State was really a private dispute and a matter to be determined by a judicial tribunal in accordance with the law applicable to the case, and, as the Legislature had, in passing the impugned enactment singled out the appellants and deprived them of their right to have this dispute adjudicated upon by a duly constituted Court, the enactment contravened the provisions of article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees to every citizen the equal protection of the laws, and was void. Legislation which singles out a particular individual ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oner, in Raja Birakishore v. The State of Orrisa(2) this Court held: "There is no violation of Art. 14 of the Constitution. The Jagannath Temple occupies a unique position in the State of Orrisa and is a temple of national importance and no other temple in that State can compare with it. It stands in a class by itself and considering the fact that it attracts - pilgrims from all over India, in large numbers, it could be the subject of special consideration by the State Government. A law may be constitutional even though it related to a single individual if on account of special circumstances or reasons applicable to him and not applicable to others, that single individual may be treated as a class by himself." It was next contended that there were provisions in the Societies Registration Act itself to meet the situation arising in Auroville. There was to necessity for the impugned ordinance or the enactment. Shri Venugopal referred to the various provisions of the Societies Registration Act to show that it was open to the Registrar to call for an explanation from the Society for any illegality or irregularity committed by them or if there was a mis- appropriation of funds,. inasm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... p Auroville and other institutions was to the tune of Rs. 3 crores. It was the responsibility of the Government to see that the amount was not mis-utilised and the management was properly carried out. So, the basis of the argument that the facts as pointed out in the preamble were non-est is not correct. Mr Venugopal tried to explain the various adverse remarks made by the auditors. On a perusal of the audit report, which is a voluminous one, all we can say is that on the facts found by the audit committee, the report is rather a mild one. There seems to be serious irregularities in the accounts. A substantial amount received by way of donations had not been properly spent, there being mis-utilisation and diversion of the funds. The Attorney-General appearing for the Union of India contended that even assuming for the sake of argument, but not conceding that the facts brought to the notice of the legislature were wrong, it will not be open to the Court to hold the Act to be bad on that account. We find considerable force in this contention. The Court would not do so even in case of a litigation which has become final on the ground that the facts or the evidence produced in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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