New Delhi Jul 30 :- In an important decision, the Supreme Court on Friday said two factions of one religious denomination, tussling for exclusive control their shrines to the exclusion of the other, cannot invoke the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, 1991, alleging alteration of the religious character of the common places of worship.
This order came on a petition filed by four individuals belonging to the Mohjit sub-sect of Tapagacch sect of Shwetamabar Murtipujak Jain denomination. Jainism, which had become popular as a protest against caste and sectarianism within Hinduism, is broadly divided into Shwetambar and Digambar factions and both having Murti and Non-Murtipujak sects. The Shwetambar Murtipujak faction has five sects – Tapagacch, Achalgacch, Paychalgacch, Khartargacch and Tri-Astutik.
Tapagacch community has two distinct streams – ‘Ek Tithi’ and ‘Bey Tithi’. It is the fight between these two streams that was highlighted in the petitioners, who invoked Places of Worship Act to seek a direction for preservation of neutral character of Tapagacch community Jain Shrines for both streams and not to exclusion of one or the other, depending on a stream majority in the area of location of the shrine.
For petitioners, senior advocate Arvind Datar told a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and J B Pardiwala that this usurpation of shrines belonging to Tapagacch faction of Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain community, either by the ‘Ek Tithi’ or ‘Bey Tithi’ factions, depending on the majority they enjoyed in an area, is causing inconvenience to both factions as well as the neutral ‘Mohjit’ faction of Tapagacch sect.
Datar objected to forcible conversion of common Tapagacch Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain community shrines to either that of ‘Ek Tithi’ or ‘Bey Tithi’ to the exclusion of the other and ‘Mohjit’ sub-sect and said since these shrines existed prior to August 15, 1947, the Places of Worship Act would squarely apply for preservation of the religious character as it existed at the time of Independence.
But, Justices Chandrachud-led bench said it is a intra-community fight between two factions, belonging to the same denomination, leading to taking over of control of shrines does not lead to change of their religious characters as they still maintain their characteristics typical to Tapagacch sub-sect of the Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain community.
“We cannot decide the ownership or management control of the shrine through a writ petition accompanied by affidavits. It needs to be adjudicated in a civil suit where monks from both sides have to step into the witness box and give evidence about the continuity of their religious practices peculiar to particular shrines,” the bench said. Datar said the writ petition was filed as this aberration is happening in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and would require filing of several suits.
The bench refused to entertain the writ petition saying, “There is a growing tendency to convert all civil cases into criminal matters and all criminal matters are being raised before the Supreme Court camouflaged as writ petitions. The petitioners can approach competent courts for appropriate remedy.”
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