S.P. MITTAL ETC. ETC. v. UNION. OF INDIA AND OTHERS . November 8, 1982

. 768 SUPREME cOURT RBPO\l.TS (1983] 1 S.C,R. I

A (5) words sufficient in law to show incorporation. In law the indi· ~

vidual !ncorporators are members of which it is · composed or something wholly different from the corporation itself, for a corporation is a legal person just as much as an individual. A corprJration aggregate can express its will by deed under a common seal. B The Society was registered, as stated earlier, under the Societies Registration Act and later on was deemed to be registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. Whether such a regis· tered society can be held to be a corporation in the light of the functions of a corporation quoted above ? In the Board of Trustees, c· I Ayurvedic and Unani Tibia College v. The Stale of Delhi and Ors.(') • it was held that a society registered under the Societies Registration Act may have the characteristics which are analogous to some of the / characteristics of a corporation but is not a corporation. As it is not I incorporated and remains an unincorporated society, therefore, it I must come under the second part of entry 32 of List II. Reliance was placed in this case on Taj]' Vale Railway v. Amalgamated Society of Servants.(') The petitioners also rely on Katra Educational Society v. State 'of Uttar Pradesh and Ors.(') In that case also the appellant was a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 21 bf 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 con· fin~d to the members of the society.. The I~termediate 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 F 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 the State legislature inasmuch G as in substance it sought to substitute'lhe provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, a field of legislation which was exclusively wifhin the competence of Parliament and in any case the Act in so far as it affected the powers of the trustees of charitable institutions

H (I) [1962] Suppl.I SCR 156. (2) [1900) AC 426. (3J '(1966] 3 SCR 328,

$.P. MITIAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 769 could not be enacfed without conforming to the requirements of A Article 254. The contention was repelled and ·it was held by this Court, relying on the Board of Trustees, Ayurvedic and Unani Tibia College v. The State of Delhi (supra) that by registration under the Societies Registration Act a .society does not acquire corporate status. It cannot also be said that the pith and substance of the Act relates to charities or charitable institutions or to trusts or trustees. It was B further held that the true nature and character of the Act falls within ·the express legislative power conferred by. entry 11 of List II and mer~ly because it ·incidentally trenches upon ·or affect_s a charitable institution or the powers of the trustees of the institution, it will . i. not on that account be beyond the legislative authority of the Siate Legislature. c As the Society is an unincorporated society, says the coun~I for petitioners, the impugned Act does not and cannot fall un!er entry 44 of List I 6f the Seventh Schedule and it would fall ui<!er entry' 32 of List II ·of the Seventh . Schedule and once it is coverel by entry 32 of List Il,.it is not at all necessary to examine whet~r it D may or it may not fall in other 'two lists of the schedule.

On the other hand, the stand of the Union of India a~ . .veil as of the interveners, . is that the first p.frt of entry 32 of Listfl is not attracted as the subject matter of the impugned Act is not ~corpora­ tion, regulation or winding up of a corporation. It has . .Oly taken over the management of Auroville from the Society ,for a short period In respect 'or the property.. Auroville, of which ne manage- ment has been taken over by the Central Governmnt under the impugMd Act means so much of the undertaking as folli. part of or relatable to the cultural township which is known a•Auroville and the charter of which was proclaimed by the Mother rJ 25th day of ' February, 1968.. The property of Auroville is sitttted not in West \ Bengal but in Pon di cherry in Tamil Nadu. The foo 1that the Society, which Was registered under the West Bengal Act, lw .been a channel of funds for the setting up of the cultural townsbP of Auroville and has been managiqg some aspects of Aurovill. does not bring G Auroville under the domain of the West Benp'I Act. The right of management of property is itself a property ri11i. ' ' The Solicitor General also tried to brio the subject matter of the impugned legislation under various otherintries of List I or List H III of the Seventh Schedule viz., entries 10, p, 41 and 42 of List Ill and en!fy 10 of List I. But it is not nec~ary for us to examine

770 . SUPREMB COURT REPORTS (1983) I s.C.1<.

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·· sub· ject 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 }II, it will be covered by the residuary entry 97 of List I. · . . · . B In our ·opinion the impugned Act even incidentally· does not trench upon the field covered by.the West Bengal Act as it is in n·o. .. way related to constitution, regulation and ·winding up of the Society In R. C•. Cooper v. Union(') it was laid down that a law relating fo the business of a corporation is not a Jaw with respect to regulation of a corporation. ·

. Having heard the··counsel for the parties, .our considered opinion is that the subject matter of the impugned Act is not covered . by entry 32 of List II of the Seventh Schedule. · Even if the· subject D matter of the impugned Act is not covered by any specific· entry of .. List I or III of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution it would in any case be covered by" the residuary entry 97 of List I. The_· · Parliament, ~herefore, had the legislative competence to enact the · impugned Act. . \. - ·'

E This leads us to the. second' ground· of attack, namely, the impugned Act is violative of Articles 25, 26; 29 and 30 of the Cons- - titution. "'

Article 25( I) confers freedom· of conscience and the right freely ·to profess, practise and propagate religion. Of course, this right is F •.. subject to'public order, morality and health and to the other Articles ···of Part III of the Constitution. Sub-clause (2) of this Article, however, provides that nothing in this Article snail affect the opera- tion·. of'any existing law or preve1a the State from :making any law-' I (a) ~egu!a"ti~g "or restricting any efonomic·, fln~ncial, politi· I G cal or other secular activity which may be associated I '·with religiouS practice ; ! 1: H -- . .. . (b} providing for socia1 welfare ancl reform or "the throw·. · ing .. open of Hindu religious' institutions of a public. I ------ character to all classes and sections ·or Hindus. . U) [1970)3 SCR S30 ((!) S63. I ....... - \

. S.P. MITIAL v. uNiON (Misra, J.) 77i Article 26 confers on every religious denomination or•·any section thereof, subject to public order, morality and health, the right- .. (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and - . ..

charitable purposes;. B (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion ; ;

(c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property ; · and

. (d) to administer such property in accordance with law . ...-... _ c In order to appreciate the contentions of the parties, it is 'necessary to know the implication of the words 'religion·-·and 'reli- gious denomination'. - The word 'religion' has not been defined in the Constitution and indeed it is' a term which is hardly susceptible of any~ rigid definition. In repljr to a question on Dharma by D Yaksha, Dharmaraja Yudhisthira said thus :

<l'!>lssrftr<e, ~ f!ff'1""!T il<F! 'll:f~ 1la' srirr"l'{ ·1 "Tli~ m<i f~a' ~t 'l~l!T itll '10: ij' <RT 11

Mahabbarta-Aranyakaparvan 313: 117.

(Formal logic is vascillating; Srntis are -contradictory. .There is no single rishi whose opinion is final. The principle F o(Dharma is hidden in a cave. The path of_Jhe 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 G onwards, as given below :

"Religion is morality, with a sanction drawn from a · ..... future state of rewards and punishments . ; H The term .'religion' and 'religious' in ordinary usage are not rigid concepts. ·

?72 SUPRBM B COURT REPORTS {1983] f s.c.a. A '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 bis· •· will.

The word 'religion' in the primary sense (from 'religare, to rebind-bind back), imports, as applied to moral ques- tions, 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 c 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 ; fo the moral obligation of reverence and worship, obedience and submission, It is the recognition of God as an object D of worship, love and obedience ; right feeling toward .God, as highly apprehended.

'Religion' means the services and adoration of God or a god as expressed in forms oJ worship ; an apprehension, awareness, or conviction of the existence of_ a Supreme E · Beirig ; any system of faith, doctrine and worship, as the Christian religion, the religions of the Orient ; a particular system of faith or worship.

The term 'religion' as used in tax exemption law, simply includes : (I) a belief, not necessarily referring to supernatural powers ; (2) a cult, involving a gregarious F association openly expressing the belief; (3) a sysiem of moral practice directly resulting from an adherence to the belief ; and (4) an organization within the cult designed to observe the tenets or belief, the content of such belief being of no moment. G While ~religion' in its broadest sense includes all forms of belief in the existence of superior beings capable of exer- cising power over the human race, as commonly accepted it means the formal recognition of God, as members of societies and associations, arid the term, ·a religious pur- pose', as used in the constitutional provision exempting from taxation property used for religious purposes, means

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 773 the use of property by a religious society or body of persons as a place for public worship. 'Religion' is squaring human life with superhuman life. • Belief in a superhuman power and such an adjustment of human activities to the requirements of that power as may enable the individual believer to exist more happily is com-· mon to all 'religions'. The term 'religion' has reference to one's views on bis relations to his creator, and to. the obli- gations they impose of reverence for his being and character and obdience to his will. t The term. 'religion' has reference to one's views of bis relations to his Creator, and to the obligations they impose c of reverence for his being and character, and of obedience to his will. With man's relations to his Maker and the obligations he may think they impose, and the manner in. which an expression shall be made by him of his belief on those subjects, no interference can be permitted, provided ,D always the laws of society, designed to secure its peace and prosperity, and the morals of its people, are not interfered with.''

These terms have also been judicially considered in The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri E Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Muit(') where in the following proposition of law have been laid down :

·(I) Religion means "a system of beliefs or doctrines which are regarded by those who profess that religion as con- ducive to their spirituaI·well-!'eing". F ' -.........::_. (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 G body having a common faith and organisation and designated by a distinctive name.

(5) A law which takes ·away the rights of admfoistration from the hands of a religious denomination altogether H (1) [1954] SCR 1005.

774 SUPRBMB COURT REPORTS [1983] i s.c.R.

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 cl Anr. v. Syed Hussain Ali & Ors.(') and can be regarded as well settled.

The words "religious denomination" iii Article 26 of the Constituiion must take their colour from the word 'religion' and if this be so, the expression "religious denomination" must also satisfy three conditions : c (1) It must be a collection of individuals who have a 'system of beliefs or doctrines which they regard as conducive to their· spiritual well-being, that is, a common faith ; '(2) common organisation ; and D (3) ·designation by a distinctive name. Jn view· of the propositions laid down by the Court in the aforesaid reported cases we have to examine the teachings of Sri Aurobindo to ·see whether they constitute a ·religion. It will be appropriate at this stage to succintly deal with the teaching of Sri Aurobindo.

According to Sri Aurobfodo there is a divine consciousness pervading the .whole universe. A portion of this consciouness by a process of involution through various planes has finally resulted in the formation of tlie physical world, namely the stars, the planets, the earth and. so on. Then came the reverse process of. evolution i.e., from stone to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to man or in other words from matter to life, from life to mind and so on. r . This evoluti0n will not stop with man who is only a transitional species. The evolution would· go further transforming man into superman and the mind into supermind. The superman according to Sri Aurobindo would be totally different from man as man from animal and animal from plant. In this transformation back to all prevading divine consCiousness in which man would become super- . man, man woµld lose his present character of body, vital and mind. His body would become a body of light, his vital a vital.of light and his mind a. mind of light. ,.. (I) [1962] 1 SCR 383, 410-11,

s.P. Ml1TAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 775

This transformatio_n, or evolution of man into superman is A -· bound to take· place but in the course of thousands of years, This process, however, according to Sri Aurobindo can be accelerated by the practice of ··integral yoga. His theory of this transformation consists of two aspects :

(a) An inner ascent of the consciousness to the Divine. B (b) A descent of Divine consciousness in the mind, vital

._ and body . •' The distinctive feature of Sri Aurobindo's yoga is that it is ... universal. Any one born in any part of the world, born of parents c professing any religion can accept his yoga. In short, he originated the philosophy of· cosmic salvation .through spiritual evolution. Divine existence that will appear through the development . of the agnostic man will usher into a transcendental spiritual age in which man and universe are destined to become divi~e. 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 up, wards from below. When these two forces blend in an individual agnostic man i.s created. This yogic ·illumination tran'scends both reason and intuition and eventually leads to the fre~ing. 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 ~ankind. 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 ihese divine _beings a divine u·niverse is also evolved. G The Divine, though One, has two aspects-oiie is static and the other dynamic. The dynamic side of the Divjne is the ·energy· or the creative side. People in the past ·realised only the static aspect of the DiVine and did not know much of the dynamic side as it is much -. more difficult to realise it. For this reason, the purpose of the creation was not understood by them.and they declared the world to _e be futile and deceptive. That means eithe.r the., Divine was unable to make a perfect world and He had no purpose iii the creation or

776 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983] I s.c.R.

'A man has not been able to understand the same. Sri Aurobindo's yoga gives the full experience of both the aspects of the Divine, that is why he calls his Yoga the Integral Yoga or the Perfect Yoga. Sri Aurobindo says the Divine is real and 'His creation is bound to be real. He has shown to the world the purpose of the creation and has declared that the world is still in an imperfect condition passing B through the transitory period towards its perfection.

Man is a creature of this world and he cannot know much of things other than this world. He has, however, a capacity in himself to develop to the next stage of evolution because Nature cannot stop with imperfect results and the present humanity must evolve further_ c till the final perfection is obtained.

We look at things and happenings from· the outer surface, having no knowledge whatsoever of the real causes and effects, the different forces and influences of the s_ubtle worlds working behind them. We can see and· feel 'only the results on the material plane and nothing more. Our senses have a very limited scope and they can give· us the knowledge of the things which can only materialise. But in fact that is not all that we are. We have another part in ourselves which is veiled by the external consciousness and we call that as our soul- the spark of divinity within ; which is one everywhere-the true self. E As our sense give us the knowledg~ of the external things by directing our consciousness outwardly, in the same way if we can direct our consciousness inwardly and rise into the inner conscious- ness, we can know the things of the higher worlds and go beyond the limitation of our physical sense, then only can we have the true ·knowledge of this .world and the worlds beyond and that practice is F called 'Yoga'.

The meaning of the word 'Yoga' is to join-join our external .r consciousness with our true self. G According to Sri Aurobindo, lrumanity is under the sway of dark and ignorant forces and that is the reason for human sufferings, disease and death-all the signs of imperfection. It is cl•ar that man has to progress towards a Light which brings knowledge, power, happiness, love, beauty and even physical immortality. The Divine H 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 Divil)e is IQ~ final purpose of Nature's evolution .

- S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 777 The soul progresses by gathering experience in the ordinary life but 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 many 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 bot~ 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 Jess 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 c be completely divinised down to the very cells of the body. The kingdom of God on. earth. can be brought about in the most literal' sense by a total transformation of collective man. To put it in• Sri Aurobindo'swords :

• . "Here and not elsewhere the highest God head has. to - .D be. found, the soul's ·divine nature developed out of the imperfect physical human nature and through unity with God and man and universe the whole la•ge truth of being ·discovered a.nd lived and made visibly wonderful. That completes the long cycle P,f our becoming and admits us to a ~upreme.result ; that is~ opportunity given to the soul E by the humun birth and until ·that is accomplished, it can- not cease."

For this transformation a new power called the ··supermind' which was sealed to this earth till now is needed. F Shri Soli Sorabjee, for the petitioners, has pontended that the followers of Sri Aurobindo satisfy the aforesaid three conditions and, therefore, they constitute a religious . denomination. Sttong reliance . . was placed on The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments,. ·Madras v. Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt (supra). In that case the followers of Ramanuja, the followers of G Madhwacharya and the followers ·or other religious teachers were • held. to he the religious denomination. On the strength of this case it was contended that Sri Aurobindo was also a religious teacher and, therefore, .there is no reason on principle which compels the H conclusion that the followers ofAurobindo who share common faith .and organisation and have a di~!ip~t!v~ i:mme do not constitute a,

778 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1983] I S.C.R.

A religious,denomination. A similar view was taken in Na/am Rama- lingayya [v. The Commissioner of Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments, Hyderabad('). Dealing with the expres- ' . sion ·'religious denomination', a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court relying on Sri Lakshmindra' s case (supra) observed as follows : B "To hold that , there exists a religious denomination, there must exist a religious sect or a body having a common faith and organisation and designated by a distinc- tive name ... Of course, any eect or sub-sect professing certain religious cult having a common faith and common c spiritual organisation, such as Vaishnavites, Madhvites, Saivites may be termed as religious denomination but certainly not any caste, sub-caste or sect of Hindu religion, who worship mainly a particular deity or god."

It was further contended that the words 'religion' and 'religious • D 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 E 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 context. The, other case taking a similar view viz. Na/am F v. Ramatingayya The Commissioner of Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments, Hyderabad (supra) is also based on the ,,--.J' same ground.

FM the petitioners it was further submitted that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother were adverse to 'religion' as 'Religiosity" and G "Religionism" but not to "True Religion". Reference was made to various writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother :

Sri Aurobindo

"In order to exceed our Nature and become divine, we H must first get God, for we are the lower imperfect term of (j) J,L.R. 197) AP. 320.

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Mis1a, J.) 779

our being. He is its higher perfect term. The ·finite tQ A become infinite, must know, have and touch infinity; the symbol being in· order to become its own reality, must know, love and preceive that Reality. This necessarily is the imperative justification of religion ; not of a church, creed or theology-for all these · things are religiosity, not religion...,-but that personal and intimate religious temper B and spirit which moves men to worship, · to aspire to or to pant after his own idea of the supreme." . (SABCV 17, p. 54-55)

"It is true in a . sense that Religion should be the dominant thing in life.... When it identifies with a creed or c cult or system of ceremonial acts it may well become a retarding force .. There are two aspects of religion. Spiritual Religion and Religionism. True Religion is spiritual - Religion, which seeks to live in spirit in what is beyond the intellect ... Religiooism on the other hand entrenches itself D in some na.rrow· pietistic exaltation of the lower members. It lays exclusive stress on intellectual dogmas, forms and . ~eremomes ... '~ - (SABCV 15, p. 166-67)

The Mother E ·' "We give the name· of religion to ·any concept of the world or the universe which is presented as the exclusive Truth in which one must have an absolute faith, generally because lhis Truth is declared to be the result of a revelation. F ·Most religions affirm the existence of a God and the rules to be followed to obey him, but there are somi: Godless religions, such as socio,political organisations which, in the name of an Ideal or tbe State, claim the same right to be obeyed." G (MCV No. 13, p. 212-13)

''The first and principal aiticle of these established and formal religions runs always "Mine is the supreme, the only truth, all others are in falsehood or inferior." For without H · this fundamental dogma, established religions could not · .have existed .. if you do 1191 l:>elieve imd proclaim that ya11

780 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983] I S.C.F.

A alone possess the one or the highest truth, you will not be able to impress people and make them flock to you." (MCV No. 3, p. 77) ·' "He who has-a spiritual experience and faith, formu- lates it in the mos! appropriate words for himself, But if he B is convif!ced that this expression is the only correct and true one for .this experience and faith, be becomes dogmatic and tends to create a religion." (MCV No. 13, p. 22)

"Imagine someone who, in some way or other has c 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 concentr~tion, 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 D this person has noted down all the processes be has used .• and constructs a fixed system, and sets up all that be bas discovered as 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 ceremcny 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.'' · I!' (MCV No. 8, p. 147)

Sri Aurobindo "You express your faith in Sri Aurohindo with certain words, which are for you the best expression of this faith; this is quite all righ,t. But if you are convinced that these G very words are the only correct ones to express what Sri Aurobindo is, then you become dogmatic and are ready to create a religion." , (Sri Aurobindo Circle 21 No. 1965)

H "That is why religions always blunder, always for they want to standardise the expression of an experience and impose it on all as an irrefutable truth. The experience was

S.P. MITTAL V.'UNION (Misra, J.) 781 ·

true, complete in itself, co.nvincing-for him who bad .it. A The formulae be has made of it is excellent-for him ; but to want to impose it on others is a gross error which has. altogether disasterous consequences-always and which .always tak.es away, far away from.the Truth."

"That is why all religions, however fine they may be B have always led men_ fo the· worst excesses. All crimes, all horrors that have been prepetrated in the name of religion . are among the darkest spots in huma!' history." (Bulletin No. 1968, p. 129-31)

"You see, this is what I have learned : the failure - of c the religions. It is because they were _divided: . They wanted people to be religious to the exclusion of the other religions ....... And what the new consciousness wants is: no more divisions. ...to find t~e meeting point." · (MCV No. 13, p. 293·94) D . "There is no word so plilstic and uncertain in its mean- ing as the word religion. The word is European and, there- fore, it is as well to know first what the E~ropeans mean by it. In this matter we find them ...... divided in opinion. Sometimes they use it as equivalent to a set of beliefs, some- E times as equivalent to morality coupled with a belief in God, sometimes _as equivalent to a. set of pietistic actions and emotions. Faith, works and pious observances, these ·are the three recognised elements of European religion ...

Religion in India· is a still more plastic term and may F mean anything from the heights of Yoga io strangling your fellowman and relieving him of the wordly goods he may happen to be carrying with him. It wo.uld, therefore, take too long to enumerate everything that can be included in Indian religion." G -Sri Aurobindo (Glossary of Terms in Sri Aurobindo's Writings, p. 132)

Emphasis was also laid upon the opinion of the authoritative sources in support of the co1_1tention that the . teachings of Sri H Aurobindo constitute a religion and the Socjety a religious denomi- nation. The Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (1972 ed.; Vol. I, pp.

?82 . SUPlBME COlJRt- REPORTS ·j (1983) l s.C,ll. A 208-9) observes·:

"Sri Aurobindo was an Indian metaphysician· and founder of a new religious movement with headqu~rters at Pondichery-·The religious movement .associated with him has increased its following in India, and has made some B converts in the West ......... God.must 'descend' into human experience. This illuminatiOI\ 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." ., , r c 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 D 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) men- tions : "According to Aurobindo, there is a progressive evolu· E tion of the divine Being thro"ugh 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 taught an, 'integral yoga' in which meditative and spiritual exercises are integrated with physi- · cal, cultural and intellectual pursuits." .F Encyclop~edia Americana (1966 Vol. 12, p. 634) states:

"He (Sri Aurobindo) abandoned politics to. found a • religious school ( 191 O) at Pondicberry. A practising Yoga philosopher, he wrote numerous spiritual and mystical G works." The Gazetteer of India, published by the Government of India, Vol. I, Country and People, Chapter 8, Religion, pp. 413-500, Section on Sri Aurobindo, states : H "Sri Aurobindo gave new interpretations of the vedas and the Vedanta, and in his Essays on the Gita he cxpoun-

· SJ'. MITTAL v., UNION (Misra, 1.) 7&3

ded what he called "the integral view of life". His great A work, The Life Divine, is a summing up of hls philosophy of"the Descent of the Divine into Matter". The impor- tance of Sri Aurobindo's mission lies in. his attempt to explain the true methods of Yoga."

In the Newsweek (Nov. 20, 1972) the.International Weekly, its B 'religion' Editor, Woodward, writes:

. • '.'The Next Religion" : Some students of oriental, thought believe th&t Sri Aurobindo's spiritual vision and discipline may blossom into the first new religion of global ·scope since the rise of Islam thirteeffcenturies ago ........ Sri c . Aurohindo left behind a nucleus ,of disciples in Pondicherry where the· Master's work is carried on by 1800 devotees who live in India's largest Ashram or spiritual commu- nity." ··

Reference was also made to the opinions of the philosophers and professors of religion about the teachings of Sri Au•obindo. Frederic Spiegelberg, in bis book 'Living Religions of the World', p. 190-205, writes that in Sri Aurobindo : ·

"We pass beyond specilfo religions to a synthetic vision of the religious impulse itself, a vision designed to embrace all previous and future history all previous and future paths..

Sri Aurobindo is a man worshipped by hundreds of thousands and respected by millions: ......... In his retreat at Pondicherry he is less the philosopher of Hinduism than the philosopher of religion in general, the voice of that which . comparative religion leaves undisputed."

Mr. Robert Neil Minor, Professor of Religion, University of Kansas, writes .: G "On the level of Mind, then Aurobindo's system can· not be falsified. It therefore cannotbe verified on the level of Mind. Iiut as a religion it is a total package. Aurobindo did not offer a religious view of which one could accept and rejecl parts. He offered an integral system based upon. an H integral vision. He offered. as well, the vision itself." ,, (Sri Aurobindo : The Perfect and the Good, 177)

784 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983} J s.c.~.

A And, the opinions of similar other professors of religion and philoso · phers have been quoted to show that the teachings of Sri Auro- bindo 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 B 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. Rangarajiin appearing for the petitioners in one of the other writ petitions substantially adopted the contentions raised C · by Mr. Soli Sorabjee and further supplemented the same by raising the following points. According to him the ingredients of religion are;

(!) A spiritual ideal;

(2) A sot of concepts or precepts on God·Man relationship D underlying the ideal :

(3) A methodology given or evolved by the founder or foilo- wers of the religion lo achieve the ideal ; and

(4) A definite following of persons having common faith in the precepts and concepts ; E and in order to constitute a 'religious denomination' two further ingredients are needed :

(5) The followers should have a common organisation ;

(6) They should be designated and designable by a distinct name-This may usually be the name of the founder him- self.

G Th.e counsel contends that the ideal _in Sri Aurobindo's religion is a 'Divine Life in a Divine Body' by Divinising Man and by trans- forming bis mind, vital and physical.- According to Sri Aurobindo, in the beginning the whole universe was full of all-pervading Divine consciouness. He called the dynamic portion of the Divine ·as · H 'Supermind'. The Divine-the Supermind-according to him, wanted to see its manifestation even in matter. By a process of involution t·he Divine which is the subtlest became grosser and grosser giving

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION l Misra, J.) 785 .

rise t9 yarious planes of consciousness. This was· achieved through A Involution-Evolution and Divinisation of· Man: The methodology for achieving the ideal was the 'Jntegr.al Yoga' which only means using affthe methods-Bhakthi, knowledge, work meditation, con- centration, attaining perfection to derive optimum benefits of each one of the·m, by .total. surrender to the Divine and by becoming the B instrument of the Divine.

Sri Aurobindo has a definite' following. In the beginning, this consisted of a few disciples. Slowly their nu.mber increased ·and an Ashram grew. Then there are definite organisations, Ashrams, Sri Aurobindo Society with more than 300 centres the world over. c The devotees of Sri . Aurobindo are also referred to as Aurobindq: nians.

There are certain other attributes which indicate that the followers of Sri Aurobindo constitute a religious denomination, for example, chanting of Mantras, speqially prepared by Sri Aurobindo, . ,; a particular symbol also used for identification, -place. of pilgri~age is the Samadhi of Sri Arirobindo and the Mother, provision for meditation at the Samadhi. Flowers are offered at the Samadhi by the devotees.

The uniqneness of his philosophy and his teachiiigs according to Mr. Rangarajan constitute•religion and the special features in his philosophy also make the Society a religious denomination. : Thus, · all the ingredients of religion and religious denomination are satisfied and there is no reason why' his teachings be not taken to be religious and the institution; viz., the Society and the Auroville be not taken to be a religious denomination within ihe meaning of Articles 25 and 26 of the Consiitution. F

The Solicitor-General for the Union of India and Mr. F.S. . Narimail, counsel for the respondents Nos. 6 to 238, on the other· hand contended that the teachings of Sri Aurobindo do not cons: titute religion nor is the Society and the Auroville a religious G 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 rui'e 9 of the Rules and Regulations of

786 SUPREME cotJRT REPORTS [1983] I S.C.K.

A Sri Aurobindo Society, which deals with membership. of the Society and provides :

"9.. Any person o·r institution or organisation either "in India or abroad who subscribes to the aims and objects of the Society, and whose applic.ation for member- B 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, religio_n, caste, creed or sex." ... . .• The only condition for membership is that the person seeking the c membership of the Society must subscribe to the aims and objects of the Society. It was further urged that what is universal cannot be a religious denomination. In order to constitute a separate denomination, there must be something distinct from another. A denomination, argues the counsel, is one which is different from the other and if ·the Society was a religious denomination, then the D person seeking admission to the institution would lose his previous religion He cannot be a member of two religions at one and the same time. But this is not the position in becoming a member of the society and Auroville. A religious denomination must necessarily be a new and one new methodology must be provided for· a religion. Substantially, the view taken by Sri E Aurobindo remains a part of the Hindu philosophy. There may be certain innovations in his philosophy but that would not make it a religion on that account.

In support or' his contention the Solicitor-General placed reliance on Hirala/ Mallick v. State of Bihar('). Dealing with meditation this Court observed :

"Modern scientific studies have validated ancient vedic insights a bequeathing to makind new meditational, yogic and other therapeutics, at once secular, empirically tested and transreligious. The psychological, physiological .'and socio- logical experiments conducted on the effects of Trans- cendental Meditation (TM, for short) have proved thta this science of creative intelligence, in its meditational applications, tranquillizes the tense inside, helps meet stress

(I) [1978] I SCR 301.

s.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 787 without distress, overcome inactivities and instabilities and by holistic healing normalises the fevered ·and fatiqued man. Rehabilitation of psychiatric patients, restoration of juvenile offenders, augmentation of moral tone and temper and, more importantly, - improvement of social behaviour of prisoners .are among the proven findings recorded by researchers. Extensive studies of TM ·in many prisons in the U.S.A., Can·!!da,. Germany· and ,other countries are reported to have yielded results of improved creativity, higher responsibility and better behaviour. Indeed, a few trial courts in the United States have actually prescribed TM as a recipe for rehabilitation.· As Dr.· M.P. Pali, Principal of the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, c ·has put down :

"Meditation is a science and this should be learnt under guidance and.cannot be just .picked up from books. Objective studies on the effects of meditation on human. D body and mind is a mo~ern observation and bas been studied by various investigation at MERU-Mabarishi European Research University. Its tranquillising effect on body and mind, ultimately leading to the greater goal of Cosmic Consciousnes.s or universal awareness, . has been studied by using over .a hundred parameters. Transcendental E Meditation practised for 15 minutes in the morning and evening every day brings about a host of beneficial effects. To name only a few :

I. Body and mind get into a state of deep relaxation. F

2. B.M.R. drops, less oxygen is consumed.

3. E.E.G. shows brain wave coherence with 'alpha' wave preponderance;

4. Automatic stability increases. G

5Copy pinpoint5. Normalisation of high blood pressure. '

6Copy pinpoint6. Reduced use of alcohol and tobacco.

7Copy pinpoint7. Reduced stress, hence decreased plasma cortisol and blood lactate. H

8Copy pinpoint8. Slowing of the heart etc."

788 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983) I. S.C.R.

A This Court dealing with punishment in a criminal case in Giasuddin v. A.P.. State(') again observed :

. "There is a spiritual dimension to the first page of our Constitution which projects into penology. Indian courts may draw inspiration from Patanja/i sutra even as B .they derive punitive patterns from the Penal Code (most of Indian meditational · therapy is based on. the. sutras of Patanjali) .

. On the strength of these authorities it is contended for the Union of India tliat the integral yoga propounded by Sri Aurobindo c ·is only a science and not a religion.

The Society itself treated Auroville not as a religious institu- tion. Auroville is a township which was conceived,' planned and developed as a centre of i,nternational culture for the promotion of the ideals which are central to the United-Nations 'Educational. D ,Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). These ideals have been explained and proclaimed extensively in the writings of Sri. Aurobindo aod the Mother. · In the year 1966, Sri Aurobindo Society, devoted as it was to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and guided by the Mother, proposed this cultural township to U.NESCO for the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO. IE The Union of India took up the matter with UNESCO and it did so on the explicit understanding that Auroville as proposed was in full consonance and conformity with lndia'.s highest ide~ls and aspirations and that would help Auroville promote the aims and 1 ·objects of UNESCO. Accordingly, at the Fourteenth Session of the General Conference of the UNESCO held in Paris in 1966, a F resolution was passed noting that the proposal made by Sri Aurobindo ·society to set up Auroville as a cultural township where people of the different countries will Hve together in harmony in one community and engage in cultural, eductional, scientific and other pursuits and that th_e township will represent cultures of the world not only intellectually but also presenting different schools of G ~rchitecture, ~aintings, soulpture, music etc. as a part of living, bringing together the values and ideals of civilisations and cultures, commended'the project to those interested in UNESCO's ideals as the project would. contribute to international understanding and pro!"otion of peace .

. (1) [1978] 1SCR153@ 164.

S.P. MITTAL V. UNION (Misra, .J.) -7g9

The said resolution of the UNESCO was followed by two A otber resolutions-one at the 15th Session in 1968 and the other at tbe 16th Session in 1970. ·In the second resolution the UNESCO had noted that the Society had taken steps to establish Aurovilli: as an international cultural iownship which would fulfil the ideas of the UNESCO. The UNESCO invited the member :States and non- governmental organisations to participate in the development of B Auroviile 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 Febeuary 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 c instrument of education, promoting mutual respect and understand- ing between people in keeping with the spirit of Universal Declara- tion of Human Rights and Universal Declaration of Principles of International Cultural Cooperation. ,,. · The Govetnment . of India took active· part in making the D "' UNESCO interested in the project and take decision as aforesaid for the development of Auroville as an international cultural town-- ship 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 Auro.ville was to be an E international cultural township. This fact is evident from the brocl:!ure submitted by Sri Aurobindo_Society to the Government of India

The Charter of Auroville given by the Mother also indicates that it is not a religipus institution, as is evident from _the following :

"!. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live fn Auroville one must be the willing servitor·of the Divine's consciousness. G

2. Auroville will be the place 'of an unending education~ of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.

3. Auroville want• to be th~ bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from H without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realis~tions.

790 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1983) 1 s.C.R.

A 4. Auroville will be the site of material and spiritual research for a li,ving embodiment of an actual human unity."

On the own admission of the General Secretary of Sfi B Aurobindo Society, Pondicberry, Auroville ·was to be a symbol of international cooperation, an effort to promote international under- standing by bringing together in close juxtaposition the values and ideals of different civilisations and cultures. The cultures of different regions of the earth will be represented in Auroville in such a way ' -" as to be acessible to all not merely intellectually in ideas, theories, c principles and languages, but also in habits and customs ; art in all forms-paintings, sculpture, music, architecture, decor,. dance ; as well as physically through natural scenery, dress, games, sports and 'diet. It will be'a representation in a concrete and living manner ; it will have a museum, an art gallery, a library of books, recorded music etc. It will also have other objects which will express its D intellectual, scientific and artistic genious, spiritual tendencies and national characteristics.

While participati.ng in UNESCO meeting "Design for Integrat- ed Living Programme in Auroville" was presented and that also goes E a Jong way to show that it was only a cultural township and not a religious institution.

Numerous utterings by Sri Aurobindo or the Mother un- mistakably show that the Ashram or Society or Auroville is not a F religious institution. In Sri Aurobindo's own words (The Teaching and the Ashram of Sri Aurobindo, 1934, p. 6) :

"The Ashram is not a religious association. Those who are here come from all religions and some are of no religion. There is no creed or set of dogmll.s, no governing religious body ; there are only the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and certain psychological practices of concen- · tration 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 tµCf :p;attJ.re ~' '

S.P. MiTTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 791

Sri Aurobindo himself said(') : . ' A "I may say tliat it is far from my purpose to propagate any religion, new _or old."

Sri Aurobindo says again(') : 8 "We are not a party or a· church or religion~"

Sri Aurobindo exposes(') : I "Churches · and creeds have, for example, stood violently in the way of phHosophy and .science, burned a Giordano Bruno, imprisoned a Galileo, and so generally c misco11ducted 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." D' The Mother said on 19.3.1973 :

"Here we do not ~ave religion."

Sri Aurobindo says again(') : E "Yogic methods have some thing of the same relation -' . t<Hhe 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 electricity. And;the, too are formed upon a kn.owledge developed and confirmed by regular experiment, a practical analysis and F constant results. . .. All methods grouped under the common name of Yoga are special psychological processes founded on a fixed truth of nature and developing, out of normal functions, powers and results which were always latent but which her ordinary movements do not easily. or do not often manifest." G

(I) Centenary Edn. vol. 22, p. 139. (2) Centenary Edn., vol. 23, p. 855. H (3) Centena<y Edn., vol. IS, p. 165. (4) Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo, vol. 20, p. 3,

792 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983] I s.C.R.

A It is pertineflt to quote Mother's answer to a question(1) :

· "Q. Sweet Mother, what is the difference between Yoga and religion :

Mother's Ans : Ah! My child .. .It is as though you were asking me the difference between a dog and a cat."

There can.be no better proof than what Sri Aurobindo and the Mother themselves thought of their teachings and their institu- c tions to find 9ut whether the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and his .' -" Iiitegral Yoga constitute a religion or a philosophy. The above • utterings from time to time by Sri • Aurobind'o and the Mother hardly leave any doubt about the nature of the institution. It was on ihe basis that it was not a religions instisution that. the Society collected funds from the Central Government and the Governments D of States and from abroad and the other non-governmental agencies.

Mr. F:S. Nariman appearing for respondents Nos. 6 to 238 adopted the arguments advanced by the Solicitor General Mr. K. Parasaran, and supplemented the same. He submitted that the Society was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and a purely ;eligious society could not have been registered under the Societies Registration Act. Section 20 of the Societies Registra- tion Act provides .what kind of Societies can be registered under ., the Act, It does not talk of religious institutions. Of course, it includes a society with charitable purposes. Section 2 of the Charit- able Endowments Act, however, excludes charity as a religious purpose. It was further cont~nded that the nature of tlie institution ca·n be judged by the Memorandum of Association. The Memo- randum of Association does not talk of any religkm. The purpose of the Society was to make known to the members and the people in general the aims and ideals of Sri Aurobindo and ·the Mother; .• their system of Integral Yoga and to work for its fulfilment in all possible ways ; to train selected sfudents and teacher> from all over the. world in the Integral System of Education, i.e., the spiritual, psychic, mental, vita! and physical; to help in cash or in kind ~by way 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 .H · (1) Collected Works of the Moth~r, ~ntenary EdQ,, p . .147.

S.P, MIITAL ''· UNION (Misra, J.). 793

· index· to know whether the Auroville or the Society was a religious 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 c.onstitution. 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 religions institution. The Society has· claimed exemption from income-tax under s: 80 for tile 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 c footing· that it was not a religious institution and got it. They professed to the Government also that they were not a religious institution i~ their application for financial assistance under the . .Central Scheme of Assistance to voluntary Hindu organisations.

• On the, basis of the materials placed before us 'viz., the · Mem.orandum of Association of the .Society, the several applications ;nade by the.Society claiming exempt.ion under s. 35 and s. 80 of the Income-tax Act, the repeated utterings, of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother that the Society and Auroville were n·ot religious institutions and host .of other documents there is no room for doubt that neither the Sqciety nor Auroville constitute a religious ,denomination and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo only represented his philosophy and not a religion.· ··

Even assuming but not ·holding that· the Society or the Auroville were a religious denomination, the impugned enactment is not hit by Article 25 or 26 of the Constitution. The -impugned enactment does not curtail the freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess practise and propagate religion. Therefore, there is no question of the enactment being hit by Article 25. - ·Article. 26 as stated earlier confers freedom to the religious denomination : G (a) to establish and ma.intain institutions for religious. and charitable purposes ;

(b) to manage its own affairs in matters or'religion ; H (c) to own and acquire mova.ble and immovable property ; and

794 , . SUPREMB COURT RBPORTS [1983] I s.c.R.

A (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.

The impugned enactment does not stand in the way of the Society establishing and maintaing institutions for religious and • charitable purposes. It also does not stand in the way of the Society to manage its affairs in matters of religion. It bas only B taken over the management of the Auroville by the Society in respect of the secular matters. The position before the present Constitution came into force was ·that the State did not interfere in matters of religion in its doctrinal and ritualistic aspects treating it

c as a private purpose, but it did exercise control over the administra- tion of property endowed for religious institutions (dedicated to the public) treating it as a public purpose, and this .i:>osition bas not ... changed even under th.e present Constitution.(').

. The scope and extent of the rights conferred by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution are now well-settled by the decision of this Court. D To start with, in The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endow- ,. ments Madras v. ·Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt(') dealing with various aspects of Article 26 of the Constitu- tion this Court observed as follows :

E "The other thing that Jemains to be considered in regard to article 26 is, what is the scope of clause (bl of the article which· speaks of management of its own affairs in matters of religion ?"jThe language undoubtedly suggests that there could be other affairs of a religious denomina- tion or a section thereof which are not matters of religion F 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 guarntee to a G religious denomination the right to acquire and own pr9- perty and to administer such property in accordance with law. The administration of its property by a religious denomination ha~ thus been placed on a different footing H (I) A.I.R. 1955 Madras 356. (2) [1954]lSCR IQ05,

S.P. Ml1TAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 795

from the right to manage its .ovrn affairs in matters of A religion. The latter is a fundamental right which no legis- lature 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 adminis-· tration of properties belonging to a religious group or institution are not matters of religion to which clause (b) B of the article applies .... . . . . .freedom oflr~ligion in our Constitution is not confined to religious beliefs only ;. it extends to religious · practices as well subject to the restrictions which ·the Constitution itself has laid down. Under article 26(b), therefore, a· religious denomination or organisation c enjoys complete autonomy in the matter of deciding as to what rites and ceremonies are essential according .to the t~nets of the religion· they hold and no outside authority has any jurisdiction to interfere with their decision in __such matters. Of course, the scale of expenses to be incurred in connection with these religious observations would be a D matter of administration of property belonging to the religious denomination' and can be controlled by secular· authorities in accordance with any law. laid down by a competent legislature ; for it could not· be · the injunction of any religion· to destory the institution and its endow- ments by incurring wasteful expenditure on . rites and E · ceremonies. It should be noticed, however, that under article 26(b) it · is the fundamental right of a religious denomination orits representative to administer its pro- perties in accordance with law; and the law, therefore, must leave the right of administration to the religious F denomination itself subject to such restrictions and regula- . lions as it might choos_e to impose. A law whfoh ·takes away . the right of administration from .the hands of a religious denomination altogether and vests it in any other authority would .amount to a violation of the right guaranteed under clause (d) of Article 26." · · · G The same principle was reiterated by this Court in The Durgah Committee, Ajmer and Anr. v. Syed Hussain Ali and-ors.('). In Tilkyat Shri Govind/a/j/ Maharaj v. The State of Rajasthan and Ors.(') it was held that the right tQ manage the ·properties of H 0) (1962] 1 S.C.R 383 - 410-11. (2) [1964] 1 S.C R. 561.

796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983) I s.c.R. A a temple was a purely secular matter and could not be regarded as a religious practice under Art. 25(1) or as amounting to affairs in matters of religion under Art. 26(b) consequently, the Nathdwara Temple Act in so far as it provided for the management of the properties of the Nathdwara Temple under the provisions of the. Act did not contravane Arts. 25(1) and 26(b) of the Constitution. B In Sastri Yagnapurushadji and Ors. v. Muldas Bhudardas. Vaishya and Anr.(') the appellants 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 77of 1948) did ·~ -" 0 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 -. D . 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 ab.sorption and assimilation of the indvidual soul with the infinits. On the means to attain this and there is a great divergence of views; some emphasise the importance of dyana, while others extol the virtue of Bhakti or devotion, yet others insist upon the paramount importance of the performance of duties with a heart full of devotion and in mind inspired by knowiedge. Naturally it was realised by Hindu religion from the very beginning of its career that truth was many-sided and ---- J.· - different views contained different aspects of truth which. no one could fully express. This knowledge inevitably bread a spirit of tolerance and wil)ingness to understand and appreciate -the opponent's ·point of view. Because G of this broad ·sweep · of Hindu philosophic concept under Hindu philosophy; there is no scope for ex- communicating any notion or principle· as bertical and rejecting it as such. The development of Hindu religion and philosophy shows that from time to time mints and H (1) [1966] ~ S.C.R. ;!42,

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 797 nligious reformers· attempted to remove from Hindu A thought and practices, elements of co;ruption and supers- tition, and ·revolted against the dominance of ·rituals and the power of the priestly class. with which it came to be associated;· and that led to the formation of different sects. In the teaching of'these saints and religious reformers is noticeable a certain amount of divergance in their respec- 8 tive views; but underneath that divergence lie certain broad · concepts which can be treated as basic and there is a kirid ' of subtle indescribable unity which keeps them within the. sweep of broad and progressive Hindu religion. The first among these basic concepts is the acceptance of the Vedas

·-·- • as the highest authority in religious and philosophic matters. This cencept necessarily implie& that all the systems claim to have drawn iheir principles from a common re- . servoir of thought enshrined in the Vedas. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim c

any one prophet; it does .not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept ; it. does not follow any one set of religious rites of performances; in fact, it d(les not satisfy the traditional features of a. religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more. The Consjitution- makers were fully conscious of the broad and comprehen- sive character of Hindu religion ;· 'and while guaranteeing E the fundamental right to freedom of religion made it clear that reference to Hin<lus shall be construed as· including a . reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or· Budhist religion. · · . Philosophically, Swaminarayan was a follower · of Ramanuja and the essence of his teachings is acceptance of F . 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 deiermination. to remove corrupt practices and restore Hindu religion to its original glory and purity. This shows unambiguously· and unequi- vocally that Swaminarayan was a Hindu saint. Further, G the facts that foitiation is necessary to become a. Satsangi, that persons of other religions could join the sect-by initia- tion without any process of proselytising on such occasions, and that Swaminarayan himself is treated as a God, are H not inconsistent with the basic Hindu religious and philosophic theory." ·

798 SUPREME COURT RBPORTs [19831 I s.c.ll. A In Digyadarsan Rajendra Ramdassji Varu v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Anr.(1) dealing with Articles 25 and 26 of the Consti- tution this Court on the facts and circumstances of the case held :

"It has nowhere been established that the . petitioner bas been prohibited or debarred from professing practising B 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 inean that the petitioner cannot be allowed to enter the math premises and exercise the fundamental right conferred by c Art. 25(1) of the.Constitution. As regards the. contraven, tion of clause (b) and (d) of Art. 26 there is nothing in ss. 46 and 47 which empowers the Commissioner to interfere with the autonomy of the religious denomination in the matter of deciding as to what rites and ceremonies are • essential according to the tenets of the religion the denomi- D nation professes or practises nor has it been shown that ,any such order has been made by the Commissioner or that the Assistant Commissioner who has been put in charge of the day-to-day affairs is interfering in such matters."

' On these observations the impugned Act in that case was upheld by E the Court.

In J. Krishnan v. G.D.M. Committee(') a full Bench of the Kerala High Court dealing with Arts. 25 and 26 observed : ·

" ... the real purpose and intendment of Articles 25 and F 26 is to guarantee especially to the religious minorities in this country the freedom lei profess, practise and . . propagate their religion, to establish and maintain institu- tions for religious and charitable purposes, to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, to own and acquire properties and to administer such properties in accordance G with law subject only to the limitations and restrictions indicated in those Articles. No doubt, the freedom guaranteed by these two Articles applied not merely to ":_.(-- religious minorities but to all persons (Article 25) and all H (I) [1970] I SCR 103 . . (2) A.l.R. 1978 Ker. 68,

S.P. MITTA~ • UNION (Mi&ra, J.) 799 \ religious denominations or sections thereof (Article 26). A But, in interpreting the scope and content .of the g·uarantee contained in the two Articles the Court will always have to keep in mi~d the real purpos.e underlying the incorporation of these provisions in the fundamental rights chapter. When. a challenge is raised before a court against the validity or any statute as contravening the fundamental 8. rights guaranteed under Article 25 and 26 it is from the above perspective that the court will approach the question· and the tests to be applied for · adjadging the validity of the statutes will be the same irrespective of whether the person or denomination complaining about the infringement of the said fundamental right, belongs to a religious minority c or not."

In Ramalingayya v. The Commissioner of Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments(') dealing with 'religious denomination' the Andhra Pradesh High Court lfeld : D. "Thus )t is the distinct 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 E a particular caste or community."

In United States v. Danial Andrew Seegar( 2 ) the U.S. Supreme Court had to construe the provisfons 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 F 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 conscienti<ins 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" G and decried the tremendous '.'spiritual" pric_e man must pay for his .willingness to destroy human life. The expression 'Supreme Bei.ng' was liberally epnstrued.

H ti) A.I.R. 1971 A.P. 320. (2) 13 L. eel 2d 733.

SUPRBMB COURT REPORTS . [198311 s.c.a. A The Court dealing with the idea of God quoted from various religious teachers thus :

"The community. of all peoples is one.. One is their origin for God made the entire human race live on all the face of the earth. One, too, is their ,Jtimate end, God. B Men expect from the various religions answers ·to the riddles of the. human condition : What is man ? What is the meanin!l and purpose of our lives.? What is the moral good and what is sin ? What are death, judgment, and retribution after death?.. ....

c Ever since· primordial. days, numerous peoples have bad a certain perception of that bidden power which hovers over the course of .things and over the events that make up the lives of man·; some have even come to know of a Supreme Being and Father. Religions in an advanced culture have been able to use more refined concepts and a more developed language in their struggle for an answer to man's religious questions ......

The proper question to ask, therefore, is not the futile · one. Do you believe in God ? But rather, What kind of God do you believe in ? E Instead of positing a personal God, whose existence man can neither prove nor disprove, the ethical concept is founded on human experience. Ii is anthropocentric, not theocentric. Religion, for all the various definitions that have been given of it, must surely mean the devotion of man to the highest ideal that he can conceive. And that ideal is a community of spirits in which the latent moral potentialities of men shall have been. elicited by their reciprocal endeavours to. cultivate the best in their fellow men. What ultimate reality is we do not know ; but we have the faith that it expresses itself ill the human world as the power which inspires in men moral purpose."

On an-analysis of the aforesaid cases it is evident that even as.suming that the .Society or A~roville was a religious. denomination, clause (b) of Art. 26 guarantees to a religious denomination a right to manage its own affairs in matters of religion. It will be seen that besides the -right to manage its own affairs in matters of

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) SOI religion, which is given by clause (b), the next two clauses of A.rt. 26 A guarantee to a religious denomination the right to acquife 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 religion. The latter is a fundamental right which no legislature can .take away, whereas, the former can be B regulated by laws which the legislatu.re 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 ihe 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 c it bas taken away the right of~ management of the property of Auroville.

- Thus. the impugned Act neither violaies Article 25, nor Article 26 of the Constitution. D The impugned' Act was also feebly sought to be challenged as violating Aris. 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 iis own E 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( !)). F (iii) Right of an educational institution not to be dis- criminated against in matter of state aid on the ground that it is under the management of a· minority (Art. 30(2)). G (iv) Right of a citizen not to be denied admission into a state maintained or state aided educational institution on grounds only of religion, race, caste,· language .(Art. 29(2)).

The impugned Act d.oes not seek to curtail the rights ·of any H section of citizens to conserve its own language, script or. cutiure

802 -sUPRBMB COURT REPORTS [1983] I s.C.R.

A conferred by Art. 29. In order to claim the 'benefit of Art. 30(1) the community must show : (a) that it is a religious or linguistic minority, (b) that the institution was -established by it. Without satisfying th_ese two conditions it caenot claim the guaranteed· rights tci administer it.

B In re The Kera/a Education Bill(!) Article 30(1) of the Consti· tution which deals with the right of minorities to establish and administer education institutions, came for consideration. The - Kerala Educational Bill, 1957, which had' been passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly was reserved by the Governor for consideration by the President. c The contention of the State of Kerala was that the minority communities may exercise their fundamental right under Article 30(1) by establishing educational institutions of their choice wherever tlfey like ~nd administer the same in their own way and need not seek recognition from the Government, but that if the minority communities desire to have state recognition they must submit to the terms impo~ed, as conditions precedent to recogniiion, on every educational institution. "The claim of the educational -institutions of the_ minority communities, on the other hand was that their funda- mental right under Art. 30(1) is absolute and could not be subjected to any restriction whatever. This Court, however, did not accept the extreme views propounded by the parties - on either side but tried to reconcile the two. It observed :

Article 29(1) gives protection to any sectien of citizens residing in the territory of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own right to conserve the same ...... the distin~t languages, script or culture _of a minority community can best be conserved by and through educa- ·tional institutions, for it is by education that their culture can be inculcated into the impressionable mind of the children of· their community. It is through educational G institutions that the language and s9ript _of the minority community can be preserved, improved and strengthened. It is, therefore, that Art. 30(1) confers on all -minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. H (1) [1~59) SCR 995.

s.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 803

The· minorities, quite understandably, regard it as essential that the education of their chiidren 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 tlie members of the public but can only be s,ecured 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 c . claim and to allay their fears conferred on them the •fundamental rights referred to above. But the conservation of the dist.inct 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 1 go out in the world well and sufficiently · equipped with the qualifications necessary for a useful career in life. But according to the Education Code now in operation to which it is permissible to· refer for ascertaining the effect of the impugned provisions on existing state of affairs, the scholars of unrecognised schools are not permitted to avail themselves of the cipportunities for higher education in the University and are not eligible for entering the public services. Without recognition; therefore, the educational institutions established or to be established by the minority communities cannot fulfill the teal objects of their choice and the rights under Art. 30(1) cannot be effectively exercised:,. The right to establish educational institutions of their choice . must, therefore, rnean the right to establish real institutions which will effectively serve the needs of t~eir community and the scholars who. resort to their educational institutions.''

In Rev. Sidhaibhai Sabhai and Ors. v. State of Bombay and G Anr.( 1) dealing with article 30(1) of the Constitution, this Conrt held:

"The right established by Art. 30(1) is a fundamental right declared in terms absolute. Unlike the fnndamental H (I) [1963] 3 S.C.R. 837@ 856.

ao4 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ t 983) l s.c.&.

A freedom guaranteed by Art. 19, it is not subject to reasonable restrictions. It is intended to be a real right ... \- for the protection of the minorities in the matter of _setting up of educ.tional institutions of their own choice. The right is intended to be effective and is not _to be whittled down by so·called regulative measures . conceived in the B interest not of the minority educational institutions, but of the public or the nation as a whole. If every order I which while maintaining the formal character of a minority institution destroys the power of administration is held justifiable because it is in the public or national interest, though not in its interest as an educational insti- c tution,_ the• right guaranteed · by Art. 30(1) will be but a "teasing illusion", a promise of unreality. RegulatiollS which may lawfully be imposed either by legislative ot executive action as a condition of receiving grant or of recognition must be directed to making the institution. while retaining - its character as a minority institution D effective an educational institution. Such regulation must satisfy a dual test-the test of reasonableness; and the test that it is r~gulative of the educa\ional character of 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(') 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 distrfcts of the State of Kerala, were challenged. Same 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 be allowed to fall below the standards of excellence expected of educational institutions, or under the guise of exclusive right of management, to decline to folloy.; the' general pattern. While the management must be left to them, they· may be compelled to keep i_n step with others." H (1) [t971] l SCR '134.

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J) 805

On an analysis of the two articles, Art. 29 at;id Art. 30 and A· the three cases referred to above, ·it is . evident that the impugned Act does not seek to curtail the right of any section of citizens to · conserve .its own liinguage, script or· culture conferred by Art. 29. The benefit of Art. 30(1) can be claimed by the community only on proving that it is a religious or linguistic minority and that the · institution was established by it. In the view that we have B taken that Al!l'oville or the ·Society is not a religious denomination, Articles 29 and 30 would not be attracted and, therefore, the impugned Act cannot be held to be violatiye of Articles 29 and 30 ,of the Constitution.

This leads us to the third ground, namely, the impugned Act .C being violative of Article l'I of the Constitution inasmuch as Sri Anrobindo Society has been singled qut for ho;tile treatment, and the legislation is against this partfoular institution. In order to appreciate this argument it would be necessary to refer to the circumstances which led to the passing of the impugned Act. D Sri Aurobindo Society is a ·society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961.. The inaio objective· of the Society is inter alia t~ make known to · the member· and people in general· the aims and .ideals .of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother ;· their system of Integral Yoga and to work .for its fulfiiment in all P.ossible ways and for the adoption. of a spiritualised society as E envisaged by Sri Aurobindo. The Society was engaged right from its inception in collecting funds for the promotion of works of Sri Aurobiiido and the Mother. The Society contributes funds to Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its international Centre of Education, Auroville. As the work of the Society began to grow it needed larger and larger funds for the sustenance of its. own activities. In due course the ·Society opened several centres· all over India, • particularly at Calcutta. Bombay, New Delhi and Madras. It has. centres also in U.S.A., Zurich, Osaka and Nairobi. Sri Aurobiodo Society bas two registered offices, one at Calcutta and another at Pondicberry,. _Io order to facilitate the work of Sri Aurobindo G Society to collect funds, on a representation 'made. by the Society . the Income·tax Department of the Government of I,ndia gave exemption lo the Society from income-tax under section 35(l)(iii) of the Income Tax Act. Income-tax exemption was claimed by the Society on the ground !hat it is engaged in educational, ,cultural and H scientific activities and social sc.iences research. It was on this under- standing that the exemption from income-tax was granted to the

806 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983) I s.c.a.

A ' Society and it is through this exemption that the Society had collect- ed a huge amount.from the public.

For the first few years the development of Auroville showed a remarkable progress and development and things were growin.g at a rapid pace. A number of Indians and foreigners settled down in B 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 fulfil- ment of the ideals for which Auroville was established and encourag· c ed,by UNESCO and other international organisations of tile 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 D 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 ending 31st December, 1974. For the years 1960 to 1971 the audit was conducted by late Sri Satinath Chattopadhyaya, Chartered · Accountant and for the years 1972 to 1974 by Sri T. R. Thulsi.ram, Chartered Accountant and Internal. Auditor of the Society. The letter addressed by him to the President; Sri Aurobindo Society dated May .\ .... 26, 1976 relating to the affairs of Bharat Niwas as on 31st .March, 1976 is revealing one and the relevant portion is extracted below : F "Thus we have an unutilised deficit of about IO lakhs at the end of 31.12.74 and -Or about 12 lakhs at the end of • 1975 or upto 31.3.76. The situation has not improv~d uptil now. The activities of construction have almost come to a - close after 31.12 74. Further, there are heavy bank over· G drafts apart from the reduction in q, D. facilities and freez- ing of the money in 0. D. account. Therefore, in these cir· cumstances it is clearly seen that government monies received for the specific purpose of Bharat Niwas have been diverted for other purposes and there are no more free liquid resources either as cash or in bank accounts. So we cannot explain saying that monies are immediately available for construction · and that the construction activities are

S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 807

• being continued without stop. Thineally is a serious matter that calls for the proper solution.

', Therefore, in the above Circumstances it is absolutely necessary that earlier steps be taken to correct the situation before serious audit objections are raised by the Government Auditors. We are afraid to say that we ourselves .would be constrained to make a qualified report of audit, if the state of affairs does not get corrected immediately."

· The situation in Auroville became so acute that at the instance of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, an enquiry was conducted in 1976 by the Chief Secretary, Pondichery, into c certain aspects of the functioning of Sri Aurohindo Society. The report of the Chief Secretary mentioned instances of serious irregularies in the manageme\}t of the Society, suspected misuse of funds and auditors' comments ·about the misuiilisation of funds and its diversion, andJt was suggested that a further probe in the financfal matters of the Society and organisations 'connected with the Auroville D Project may be· made by a team of competent auditors. ·

Considering the special position of Auroville as a cultural . township of international 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 fulfilment of the ideals of Auroville, the presence of a large number of- foreigners in Auroville who had left their hearth and home for Auroville whicli 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 t,he Government of India in regard F 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. G

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. · H An important finding of this Committee was that the earlier appr~hensio_n about instances of serious irregularities in the manage·

808 SUPREME COURT REPORTS !J983J 1 s.c.~. ·A men! of the Society, misutilisation of the funds, and the diversion was confirmed. This Committee also submitted to the Government of India two.volumes _of the audit report. Some of the other impor- tant 'findings of the_ Committee based on audit reports were as follows :

8 "The professional services required from Architects for the construction of ·Phase I of Bharat Ni was were not rendered by them and still full payment was made to these architects.

c Rs. 13.30 lacs sanctioned by various State Governments for construction of pavillions of their respective States were . diverted and utilised towards construction in Bharat Niwas for common zone facilities-this was without the approval ,of the State Government. D Whilst the books of Bharat Niwas show that there was an unutilised balance of Rs. 22.64 lacs the Project was without any liquid resources-thus showing that moneys received out of Govt. grants were diverted for other activi- ties notwitstanding that this position was brought to the notice of the Society by their statutory ·auditor in its letter dated 26.5.76.

Although there was no fresh receipt of_ steel in Bharat Niwas Phase 2 the stock was purportely revalued at a higher rate of Rs. 2000 per metric ton _against the earlier rate of Rs. 1700 per metric ton adopted on 31.12.73. This resulted in an over-statement of the value of stock to the amount of Rs. 42,000/-.

There was a transfer of materials· of stock worth Rs. 2.30 lacs to Auro Stores by ajournal entry on 31.12.1975 Auro Stores is a concern of Navjattas. The audit team concluded that as a re,ult of this there was an unreal expen- diture which bad not resulted in outflow of resources and resulted in overstatement of expenditure on Bharat Niwas.

An undischarged amount of Rs. 1.45 lacs payable to the contfactors Messrs E.C.C. Ltd. towards the construc- H tion of Bharat Ni was stood included in· the total expendi- ture as on 31.12.74-the utilisation certificates furnished

. S.P. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 809

with regard to total expenditure were held to be incorrect to A that extent. ·

Although materials pur chased out of Govt. grants could not be hypothecated wit bout. the approval of the Government the Society hypothecated sieel from Auro Stores and obtained a loan of Rs. 6. 88 lacs from the State B Bank of India-resulting in an expenditure of interest charge of Rs. 9561.40 which was held to be inadmissible and an irregularit}.

Aithough the Society completed ccnstruction of Health Centre in Dec. 1973 at a total cost of over Rs. 2 lacs c 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. · D 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.

E 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. 88,526/-and the amount said to have been paid in excess of the value for the 18'ld . actually purchased was Rs. 31,322 ..

The operation of purchase of lands was through indi- viduals who were given huge sums of money as advances. It was noticed tha1 in one ·transaction an amount of G Rs. 43,250/-representing the balanqe 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 also did not give the details of the document H numbers in respect of which stamp papers worth Rs. 43,250/ were used. ·

810 SUPRllMB COURT REPORTS (1983] l S.C.R

A In 1975· 76 land to the extent of 23.86 acres was purchased at the cost of Rs. 91,496 but was registered in the names of four individuals and the value of the lands so registered in individual names were treated as advances. to these individuals. The names of these individuals were "Maggi", "Kali", "Shyamala" and uRavindra .Reddy". B The audit team found that assets and liabilities of the project were overstated to the extent of Rs. 5,10,670.

The balance·sheet of Auroville project has been so c framed that the assets side does not throw any light as to . . whether the 'corresponding assets from donations have been ' - acquired and the problem is aggravated .by the fact that a register of assets is not maintained.

There was a complete lack of financial control which ··--4 D was. the .most serious ·drawback of the system and this want of financial control was revealed in a number of established and conventional procedure which would have serious implications.

It was not possible for the Audit Team to establish' nor the Society could establish that moneys paid were really exchanged with certain materials or goods of corresponding value. The Jack of adequate scrutiny resulted in the fact that· in most of the ·cases the bills were not supported by adequate details of materials having been passed.

The expenditure of Auroville project working out to nearly 3 crores, there was no system of control of expendi- ture-no rules and regulations or procedures according to which a particular individual or office bearer could incur an expenditure only upto a particular limit and not above that. Persons who were authorised to operate bank accounts had full authority to draw as much as tbay wanted and there was no system of reporting or feed-back.

In view bf the large scale construction activities, large ,amounts of stores materials of various descriptions were H .being bandied by the project. We have not come across proper records of stores and stock accounts being main- tained . by' the project. ' ' This indeed. was a serious drawback - - .

S.P. MJ1TAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 811

since in the absence of such a system it was not possible to verify from the records that the moneys which were shown as having been spent for purchase of materials were really paid in exchange of the materials of the required quantity and quality and whether the 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 repre- sented by the value was the real balance representing the various stock items. ·

Huge amounts of ,cash were being handled by persons operating t.he main account and the number of individuals . c . who were given advances-there was no system under which cash could be verified at any interval. ·

Even apart from the audit report, one ~ery important point may be mentioned.. The Society has been claiming that they have been holding more than Rs. 20 lacs in reserve D in the account of Aurobindo Society to meet their obliga- tions with regard to Auroville. And yet the Society bas incurred heavy debts in the name of Auroville and allocated huge accumulation of interest to the extent of Rs. 20 lacs~" E The Committee ca·me 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 F Constitution ;

(b) Take.over of the management of Auroville project by the Government for.a limited period by legislation under Art. 31 A(.I )(b) of the Cons.titution. G There was an intensive examination of the Committee's repc,rt as also of the audit report. All kinds of possibilities were explored by the Government of India for remedying the situation including, . several discussions with the managers of the Sri Aurobindo Society. fl At the same time, it was apparent that the Government grants which were given for the construction works remainecj unutilised an<!

812 SUPREME ~OURT REPORTS (1983] 1 S.C.R,

A diverted. The const~uction work itself was stagnant. The Auroville township bad been conceived to be spread over 10 sq. miles (minimum) for about 50,000 people. Considering the multi-dimen-. sional task, the work which was accomplished by 1976 was not even marginal. It became obvious that the work had already come to a standstill and that there was not much prospect of further growth of ·B A uroville.

On a close examination of th.e audit report certain clarifications were sought from those at the helm of the affairs in the Sri Aurobindo Society. on various points which had come to light through the audit report. An extensive correspondence on this sub- c ject was, therefore, undertaken. The Government oflndia received from the Sri Aurobindo Society answers which were often evasive and which only confirmed the findings of the Committee's report and audit report.

D It may also be mentioned that the atmos_phere in Auroville became so bad that it gave rise to law and order problem. The Government of Tamil Nadu was "obliged several times to promulgate orders under s. 144 Cr. P. C. Even so, the situation remained so bad that there were about three instances in which residents of Au'roville sustained injuries because of fighting between groups. E The Government of India examined the charges and counter- charges in detail. Union Education Minister also paid a visit to Auroville towards the end of October, 1980. Thus after full consi- deration of various aspects of the problem, the Government of India decided to take recourse to the promulgation of an ordinance, F Accordingly, the impugned ordinance was promulgated on 10th November, 1980.

Mr. _K. -K. Venugopal, appearing for the petitioners, however, G referred to the decision of the respective Ministries on the audit report. During October- November, 1979, he contended the . Ministry of Education 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 ff' was later on endorsed by the respective Union Ministers. The report submitted by Mr. P. P. Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affair~, iyho yjsited Pondiche~~ and Aurov!Ile on a fact finding

S.1'. MITTAL v. UNION (Misra, J.) 813 mission from 8th to 10th October, 1980, contained the following A observations :

"All along tbe view of the Ministry of Home Affairs has been that there is no case cif takeover of the adminis- tration of Auroville. This is an internal matter and the Government need not interfere. The Government of B Tamil Nadu should be asked to depute two officers to help the Shri Aurobindo Society for administering the finances· and the administration."