All India Democratic Women's Association and Janwadi Samiti v Union of India and Ors

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court
Hon'ble Judges: Ranganath Misra
M. N. Venkatachalam
Judgment Date: 1989-03-17
Court Decision / Holding: The restraint on holding the Chunri ceremony within the temple should continue without any variation. Pending disposal of the writ petition, the temple complex must be maintained, with maintenance expenses met from the income earned. If any contribution is made to social institutions of utility, the support should not die out. The respondent temple management may move the District Magistrate for directions to release funds from deposits in the bank for maintenance and/or for charitable or social purposes, subject to appropriate orders. This disposes of the Civil Miscellaneous Petition.
Final Disposition: Disposed of the Civil Miscellaneous Petition with directions to continue the interim restraint and maintenance regime; no final decision on the substantive issue regarding Chunri and Sati at this stage.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

All India Democratic Women's Association
Janwadi Samiti

Respondents

Union of India
Sri Rani Satiji's Mandir (Temple management), Jhunjhunu
State of Rajasthan
District Magistrate, Jhunjhunu

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• Mrs. K. Hingorani
• Ms. Santosh Singh

Counsels for Respondents

• A.K. Sen
• Dr. L. M. Singhvi
• Vivek Gambhir
• Parveen Kumar
• B. D. Sharma

Case Synopsis & Summary

This case concerns a writ petition under Article 32 challenging an ex parte interim order dated 9 September 1988 that prohibited the Chunri ceremony within Sri Rani Satiji's Mandir, Dharamshala-like temple precincts, and directed that temple income be deposited in a nationalised bank. The petitioners, representing women’s associations, sought vacation of the ad interim order and a directive not to interfere in the collection of temple funds or sacred articles. The Supreme Court, on 17 March 1989, disposed of the Civil Miscellaneous Petition No. 28180/1988, retaining the restraint on the Chunri ceremony and directing the temple complex to be maintained, with maintenance expenses to be met from income earned. The Court stressed that the question whether Chunri amounts to glorification of Sati requires careful examination at a later stage and would not be decided in this interim posture. It invoked the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, which makes glorification of Sati an offence. While upholding the interim restraint, the Court allowed the District Magistrate to consider, in due course, whether funds in the bank could be released for maintenance and for charitable or social purposes, without letting the protection of the temple decline.

Provisions of Law Cited

Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987Article 32 of the Constitution of India

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioners argued that the Chunri ceremony is not necessarily linked to the glorification of Sati and sought to sustain the interim order, contending that authority should not interfere with temple matters or with the handling of temple income. They urged that funds could be used for temple maintenance and for social or charitable purposes as directed by a competent authority, while emphasizing the need for preserving the temple's functions until a final decision is reached.

Contentions of Respondents

The respondents contended that Chunri ceremony, in the State of Rajasthan, is traditionally connected with ritual offerings and may amount to glorification of Sati; they urged continued restraint and compliance with the interim order, asserting that temple funds should be managed and monitored, with possible release of funds by the District Magistrate only under appropriate orders, to ensure proper maintenance and prevent misuse.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

A ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION AND ~ JANWADI SAMIT! _v._ UNION OF INDIA & ORS. MARCH 17, 1989 B [RANGANATH MISRA AND M.N. VENKATACHAL!AH, JJ.] _y_ ##### Commission ofSati (Prevention) Act, 1987: Chunri Ceremony- \ _Whether glorification of Sati-Maintenance of Sati temple and support_ .,. _to social institutions of utility out of income earned pending determina-_ c _[lion-Permissibility of. ]_ By an _ex-pa rte_ order made in the writ petition on 9th September, -'f 1988, the Court prohibited respondent No. 2, the management of the Sri Rani Satiji's Mandir, from performing Chunri ceremony within the temple and directed the entire collection of money to be separately D accounted for and deposited into a nationalised bank. In this miscellaneous petition, the management sought vacation of the _ad interim_ order and for a direction to the authorities not to interfere in the matter of collection of money as also articles of gold and ##### silver of deities. + E Disposing of the miscellaneous petition, the Court, _Ordered:_ 1. The restraint imposed on holding the Chunri ceremony within F the temple should continue without any variation. [68G-H] # 2.1 Pending disposal of the writ petition, the temple complex has " ### •· to be maintained. Therefore, out of the income earned maintenance expenses must be met. [69A] G 2.2 If out of the income of this institution any cont;>ihution was being made to sustain some social institutions of utility, the support .\ should not die out. [69B-C] 2.3 The respondent No. 2 is free to move the District Magistrate in regard to these two aspects and in case the latter is satisfied that H appropriate funds should be released out of the deposits in the bank for 66 JANWADJ SAMIT! _v._ U.0.1. 67 ~ [one ] [or ][both ][of ][the ;ibove said purposes, ] [he ] [would be free to make an ] A appropriate order in respect thereof. [69C] ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Civil Misc. Petition No. 28180 of 1988. IN B -I Writ Petition No. 913 of 1988 ~ {Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.) ###### .. Mrs. K. Hingorani and Ms. Santosh Singh for the Petitioner. c _y_ A.K. Sen (Not Present), Dr. L.M. Singhvi, Vivek Gambhir, Parveen Kumar and B.D. Sharma for the Respondents. S.P. Singh for the Impleading party. D The following Order of the Court was delivered: ORDER .~· This Court on 9. 9 .1988 after hearing counsel for the petitioners in the writ petition made an _ex parte_ order to the following effect: E .....;. "Issue notice returnable on Tuesday, the 13th Sep!ember, 1988. In view of the allegations made in Pargraph 4 of the affidavit given by Vi jay Trivedi, the Respondent No. 2 is prohibited from performing any Chunri Ceremony within Sri Rani Satiji's Mandir and the respondents are F directed to enforce this order on the 10th September, 1988 and on any other occasion thereafter until further orders. ## • '\l directed to enforce this order on the 10th September, 1988 and on any other occasion thereafter until further orders. The entire collection of money shall be separately accounted for and should be deposited into a nationalised bank, so that appropriate directions after hearing both the parties _I_ On 10th of September, 1988, the annual Satiji Mela was scheduled to be celebrated within the said temple premises. The management of the temple, respondent No. 2, in the writ petition has now applied for vacating the _ad interim_ order and for a H may be made by this Court in regard to the same ..... " G 68 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989) 2 S.C.R. A direction to the District Magistrate, Jhunjhunu to return the keys of #### J. the _Bhetpatras_ of the temple and the boxes containing the articles of gold and silver and also for a direction to him not to interfere in the matter of collection of money as also collection of articles of gold and silver of deities located in the premises of the temple and to make such other orders as may be necessary to meet the situation. B We have heard Dr. Singhvi in support of the petition, Mrs. Hing##### _r_ orani for the petitioners in the writ petition asking for sustaining the ~ interim order and Mr. Sharma for the State of Rajasthan. An affidavit has been filed by the District Magistrate of Jhunjhunu in the course of,.. hearing which has also been placed before us. c Broadly two aspects require consideration: (1) whether the )'. 'Chunry' ceremony should be permitted to be performed within the temple and (2) whether out of the amounts which are being deposited in the nationalised bank in terms of the interim order, the expenses for maintenance of the temple complex, performance of the daily rites as D also the usual charities should not be made. Under the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, glorification of Sati is strictly prohibited and that act has been declared to be an offence. Dr. Singhvi by referring to different dictionaries has tried to _-+_ impress upon us that _Chunry_ as such is not connected with glorification E of Sa ti and is a ceremony connected with the traditional form of offering worship known as Sodash Upachar while Mrs. Hingorani and Mr. Sharma do not accept the submission made by Dr. Singhvi and have,._ maintained that in the State of Rajasthan _Chunry_ ceremony is always .I associated with glorifying Sati and the celebration is a part of the F traditional process of religious offerings in Sati temples. This certainly A is not the stage in the proceedings for a final view of the question as to whether performance of _Chunry_ ceremony amounts to glorification of ~Sati and the determirtation must be left to the final stage. We do not think it would be appropriate for us to express any view beyond this point at this stage as the same may embarrass the bench which would ultimately hear the matter. G ,\: We are, therefore, of the view that the restraint imposed on holding the _Chunry_ ceremony within the temple should continue without any variation. The contention of Dr. Singhvi that Chunry is a part of Soda sh U pachar will have to be examined at length at the later " H [stage. ] .l< JANWADI SAMIT! _v._ U.0.I. 69 _I_ Now a look at the other aspect. There can be no two opinions that pending disposal of the writ petition, the temple complex has to be maintained and out of the income earned maintenance expense must be met. The submission advanced by Mrs. Hingorani that the temple should be converted forthwith into rehabilitation camps for uncared for ladies is certainly not one requiring any serious consideration. There is no provision in the statute or in any other law which would warrant such change of user of the premises. Similarly if out of the income of this institution any contribution was being made to sustain some social institutions of utility, the sup-_ port should not die out. The respondent No. 2 is free to move the District Magistrate of Jhunjhunu in regard to these two aspects and in case the District Magistrate is satisfied that appropriate funds should be released out of the deposits in the bank for one or both of the purposes indicated above he would be free to direct such money as may be found necessary to be withdrawn from the bank for being utilised for the purposes as may be specified by the District Magistrate m his order to be made. This disposes of the Civil Miscellaneous Petition. A B c D J.- P.S.S.