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TMI Blog1938 (5) TMI 15X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... application to the District Judge under Section 3, Charitable and Religious Trusts Act (No. 14 of 1920), alleging that the Baghichi Thakaran was a public endowment for religious and charitable purposes, and called upon Mahant Narain Das, who was described by them as the trustee of the endowment, to furnish details of the nature and purposes of the trust, and of the value of the property belonging to the trust, and also to render an account of the income and expenditure of the trust property. Their allegations were contested by Narain Das, and the controversy between the parties led to the present action brought by Narain Das for the purpose of obtaining an authoritative pronouncement upon the nature of the trust and of the property attache ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... perty at Gujranwala. The prosperity of the institution was mainly due to Narain Das who succeeded Sant Das on his death in 1879. Narain Das acquired properties at Nankana, Sahib, and also built shops at Gujranwala. The annual income of the various properties during the time of Narain Das rose from ₹ 1394 in 1905 to ₹ 7664 in 1923. It was probably this abnormal rise in the income which attracted the attention of the respondents who made the application under the Charitable and Religious Trusts Act which led to this litigation. It appears that the person, who happened to be in charge of the Baghichi, was called mahant; and that the Baghichi itself was known as Gurdwara. But the main property, which. is the subject-matter of the di ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d as a religious property, the question arises whether it was dedicated for the use or benefit of the public. In the case of a public trust, the beneficiaries are either the public at large or a considerable portion of it answering a particular description. Now, there is no documentary or oral evidence to show that the property was expressly dedicated for the use or the benefit of the public. Are there any circumstances from which the dedication of the property to a public trust can be implied? It appears that in 1869 four persons applied to the Municipal Committee, Gujranwala, that a plot of land lying in front of the building of the Baghichi Thakaran might be included in the courtyard of the building, and that, though they were themselves ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... blic nature. It is, however, significant that, as deposed by him, Narain Das did not succeed in securing an exemption from Income Tax on a subsequent occasion, and had to pay ₹ 250 or ₹ 300 per annum as Income Tax. Their Lordships' attention has been invited to a will made by Mahant Sant Das on 14th October 1875. In this will the testator describes the property in dispute as his private property, and states that he is entitled to alienate it. There can be no doubt that Sant Das regarded the property to be his property, but the respondents contend that he himself declared the property to be a public trust to take effect after his death, and appointed a managing committee to administer the alleged trust. The original will is n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ns of holy books are, in no way, incompatible with the hypothesis that the trust, if any, was of a private nature. There can be no doubt that even in a private shrine, the public may worship, but the question is whether they do so without any permission, leave or license and as of right. This test has not been satisfied in the present case. Their Lordships do not think that any user or treatment of the property has been proved, such as would justify the conclusion that it was a public, and not a private trust. It cannot be disputed that the plaintiff can be defeated only if the defendants establish affirmatively that a trust of a public character was imposed upon the property. To constitute a trust "created or existing for a public pur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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