CHAIN SINGHversusMATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD AND ANR.

A                                 CHAIN SINGH
                                         v.
            MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD AND ANR.

                              SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

B             [SHIVARAJ V. PATlL AND B.N. SRIKrJSHNA, JJ.]

         Constitution of India, I950 :

          Articles 12 and 226- 'State '-Determination' of-Mata Vaishno Devi
    Shrine Board-Amenability to writ jurisdiction-Employees as well as
C   tenants of the shops of the Shrine Board filed writ petitions before the High
    Court claiming various reliefs-High Court, relying on the ratio in Bhuri
    Nath 's case, held that the Board was not 'State' within the meaning of 1rt.
    I 2 and, therefore, not amenable to writ jurisdiction-Correctness of-Held:
    Bhuri Nath 's cas~ not concerned with the issue as to whether the sweep of
D   Art. 226 could extend to the Shrine Board-The sweep of Art. I2 is much
    wider-It could be exercised against "any person or authority" including,
    in appropriate cases, "any Government"-High Court directed to cunsider
    the maintainability of the writ petitions under Art. 226 by applying the
    principles and tests laid down in Pradeep Kumar Biswas' case-Hence,
    matter remitted to High Court for fresh consideration-The Jammu and
E   Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1988, S. 20.

         The employees as well as the tenants of the respondent-Board filed
    writ petitions before the High Court claiming various reliefs. The High
    Court relying on the ratio in Bhuri Nath's case (1997) 2 SCC 745 held
    that respondent-Board was not amenable to the writ jurisdiction as it
F   was· not 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 .of the Constitution.
    Hence the appeal.

         Disposing of the appeal, the Court

         HELD : J. Bhuri Nath was not concerned with the issue as to whether
G   the sweep of Article 226 could extend to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine
    Board. The sweep of Article 226 is much wider. It can be exercised
    against "any person or authority" including, in appropriate cases, "any
    Government". (809-C, D; 809-E, F]

H        Bhuri Nath v. State of J & K, [1997) 2 SCC 745, held inapplicable.
                                         798
      CHAIN SINGH v. MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD                      799

     Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, (2002)        A
5 SCC 111; Sabhajit Tewary v. Union ofIndia, (1975] 1 SCC 485; Gullapalli
Nagesward v. A.P. SRTC, (1959) Supp. 1 SCR 319; Union of India v.
Sudhansu Mazumdar, [1971) 3 SCC 265; Ajay Rasia v. Khalid Mujib, AIR
(1981) SC 487 and Ramanna v. International Airport Authority of India,
AIR (1979) SC 1628, relied on.                                                   B
     Kiran Babu Y. Govt. of A.P., AIR (1986) AP 275 and Hardwari Lal
v. G.D. Tapase, AIR (1982) P & H 439, referred to.

     2. No view is expressed on the apprehension voiced by the appellants
that Section 20 of the Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi
Shrine Act, 1988 bars civil suits and adjudications under labour laws.
                                                                                 c
The High Court shall, therefore, first consider the maintainability of the
writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution oflndia by examining
whether the Shrine Board is amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the
High Court, by applying the p~inciples and tests laid down in Pradeep
Kumar Biswas' case. [811-A, B, C]                                                D
    Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, [2002)
5 sec 111, referred to.

     3. The High Court shall also consider whether any alternative remedy
is available to the writ petitioners by way of civil suit or industrial          E
adjudication. It shall be open to the High Court to take an appropriate
decision thereupon, including the relegation of the parties to the appropriate
remedy, if the High Court upon interpretation of the provision of Section
20 of the 1988 Act comes to the conclusion that such alternative remedy is
available to the writ petitioners before it. [811-C, DJ                          F
     4. In case the High Court takes the view that the writ petitions are
tenable, and that no other equally efficacious alternative remedy is
available to the writ petitioners, then the High Court shall decide the
writ petitions on their merits. (811-D, .El
                                                                                 G
     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 4596of1999.

    From the Judgment and Order dated 8.2.99 of the Jammu and Kashmir
High Court in O.W.P. No. 523 of 1995.

                                   WITH                                          H
     800                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A          C.A. Nos. 4597-4598 of 1999 and 6334 of 2004.

         M.L. Verma, S.S. Lehar, Ranjit Kumar, Satya Mitra, P.D. Sharma and
     Ms. Binu Tamta for the Appellants.

           P.P. Rao and Upinder K. Jalali, Manu Nair, Rohit Kapoor, Dhruv
B    Dewan for Mis. Suresh A. Shroff & Co., Anish Suhrawardy and Amit Anand
     for the Respondents.

           The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

                                  J. : These civil appeals and the special leave
c petitionB.N.ariseSRIKRISHNA,
                     out of and impugn the same judgment of the Division Bench
     of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir which allowed the Letters Patent
     Appeals of the respondents.

           A popular Hindu Shrine in Jammu thronged by devotees all round the
D    year, Mata Vaishno Devi is situated on the Trikuta Hills, approximately 45
     kilometers from Jammu city. The Shrine was originally managed by a trust
     known as 'Dharmarth Trust', which managed, not only the affairs of the
     shrine, but also looked after the welfare of the pilgrims. The actual duties
     of performance of Pooja and protection of the. Shrine were carried out by
     Baridars, who belonged to the two villages in the vicinity of the Shrine. With
E    the popularity of the Shrine increasing, there was an exponential increase in
     the number of pilgrims visiting the S\lrine. When the number of devotees
     visiting the Shrine became unmanageable, there were complaints with regard
     to administration and managemeut of the temple, and the facilities made
     available for the pilgrims. This led to the enactment of 'The Jammu and
F    Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986' (Governor's Act No.
     XXXIII of 1986) which was replaced by an Act of Legislature, passed in
     1988, (Act No. XVI of 1988) called 'The Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata
     Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the '1988 Act').

          A statutory Board is constituted under Section 5 of the 1988 Act, of
G    which the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir 1s the ex-officio Chairman. The
     administration, management and governance of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi
     Shrine and the Shrine Fund vest in the Board, which comprises a Chairman
     and not more than ten members. Under Section 6 of the 1988 Act, the Board
     is deemed to be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and
H    a common seal and by the said name the Board can sue and be sued. Under
    CHAIN SINGH v. MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRJKRISHNA, J.] 801 :

Section 14 of the 1988 Act, the Board is empowered to appoint a Chief             A
Executive Officer and such other officers and servants as it considers
necessary with such designations, pay, allowances and other conditions of
service as detennined from time to time. Section 15 of the 1988 Act provides
that the employees of the Board are deemed to be public servants within the
meaning of Section 21 of the State Ranbir Penal Code (which corresponds           B
to the Indian Penal Code) as applicable in Jammu & Kashmir area.

     One of the drastic change brought about by the 1988 Act was that by
reason of Section 19, all rights of Baridars stood extinguished.

     Section 20 provides that no suit or other proceedings shall lie in any       c
court against the Board or its officers for anything done or purported to be
done in good faith under the Act.

     Section 24 empowers the Board to make bye-laws 'not inconsistent with
the Act' for carrying out its duties.
                                                                                  D
Civil Appeal No. 4596 of 1999:

      The appellant, Chain Singh, is an ex-service man who claims that in the
year 1983, he became the tenant of a shop premises let out to him by Shri
Mata Vaishno Devi Dharrnarth Trust at an annual rent of Rs. 15,000. The
appellant was carrying on the business of selling petty items for use of the      E
pilgrims in his shop and had obtained licences from the different authorities,
including the Assistant Director, Touris~, for carrying on his trade. After the
Jammu & Kashmir Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986 Act came into force
(later replaced by the '1988 Act'), the appellant claims that, by reason of
Section 19(3), he became the tenant of the Board. It is his case that he          f.
thereafter continued as a tenant of the Board. Upon the Board coming into
existence, the appellant was shifted from the original shop allotted to him by
the Dhannarth Trust to a new shop constructed by the Board. According to
the appellant, the new shop premises were smaller in area and there was also
interference in his day to day business by the officers of the Board, who were
bent upon throwing him out therefrom, so that they could extract higher rent
                                                                                  G
from a new tenant.

     The appellant filed a writ petition in the High Court of Jammu &
Kashmir being OWP No. 184/94, which was disposed of by a learned Single
Judge of the High Court with the direction that the Board shall consider an       H
    802                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A   appropriate representation of the petitioner with regard to his grievance. Soon
    thereafter, on 10.7.1995, the Board gave a notice informing him that he had
    failed to file a representation, as directed by the High Court, and, that unless
    he signs an agreement with the Board within three days, he would be
    subjected to further action as deemed appropriate. The petitioner protested
    against this notice and followed it up by another writ petition OWP No. 523/
B
    95 before the High Court by which he asked for various reliefs, including
    the relief of quashing the notice issued to him and a mandamus to the officers
    of the Board to refrain from interfering with his busmess activities. This writ
    petition came to be dismissed by a learned Single Judge of the High Court
    on 8.2.1999 holding that the writ petition was not maintainable in view of
c   the decision of the Division Bench of the High Court in LPA No. 182 of 1992
    decided on 27 .1.1999. Hence, this appeal.

    Civil Appeal Nos. 4597-98 of 1999:

          The appellants in these two appeals were employees of the Board, who
D
    were holding different posts under the Board. It is the case of the appellants
    that, their conditions of service were unsatisfactory and they formed a trade
     union for collective bargaining so as to improve their conditions of service.
    Their trade union was registered with the Registrar of Trade Union, Jammu
    and Kashmir Government under registration No. 705 dated 11.12.1990. On
E    15.1.1991, the Registrar of Trade Union, J&K, Jammu addressed a letter to
    the Preside~t, Shrine Board Employees Union, Panthal Rgad, Katra informing
    f!im that they ~ould not fqrm themselves into a trade union since the Shrine·
    Board, the employer, was not a Trade or Industry. He further said, "the terms
    of employment of all the servants of the Board are governed by the J&K Mata
    Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1988 and since its employees have duly been
F
     declared as 'Public Serv~nts' under Section 15 of the aforementioned Act
     and, as such, its employees are not registP-rable as a Union under the Trade
     Unions Act, 1926 and cannot be said to be in employment in any Trade or
     Industry." He, therefore, informed the trade union that he felt satisfied that
    the registration issued under the aforementioned n~mber had been obtained
G   by mistake which should be deemed to have been withdrawn from 10th day
    of March, 1991.

         Undaunted by the withdrawal of the registration granted to them, the
    appellants and other employees carried on with their trade union activities.
    Ac~ording to the appellants, these trade union activities brought them into
H
    CHAIN SINGH v. MATA V AISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRIKRISHNA, J.]        803 ,

disfavour with the officers of the Board, who started victimisi~g them for the     A
legitimate trade union activities. Victimisation comprised systematic action
taken against the activists of the trade union, some of whom were even
removed from service. The aggrieved employees filed writ petition WP No.
497 of 1992 before the High Court challenging the termination of their
services and sought a writ of mandamus and a direction to the Board to             B
reinstate them with full back wages and all conse'l_uential benefits. This writ
petition was opposed by the first Respondent Board. A learned Single Judge
partly allowed the writ petition and granted reliefs to some of the employees
and      rejected    reliefs      to    the    other      employees.       The
employees who were refused reliefs filed LPA No. 182 of 1992 before
the High Court. The Board filed LPA No. 183of1992 challenging the reliefs          C
granted to some of the employees. By a common judgment
dated 27.1.1999 the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the LPAs.
by holding:

         "The Board does not satisfy the tests laid down by the Supreme
         Court referred to in the preceding part of this judgment. It is not
                                                                                   D
         State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India.
         Therefore, writ petition is not maintainable. Having said so, we need
         not examine merits of impugned orders of termination passed
         against the petitioners. Preliminary objections raised by the Appellant
         succeeds."                                                                E
The aggrieved employees are before this Court by these appeal~.

Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 8192 of 2001:

      The petitioner was appointed as a Chowkidar on 6.1 (f.1978 in the            F
Dharmarth Trust and claims to have become an employee of the Shrine Board
after coming into force of the Jammu & Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi
Shrine Act, 1986. It is the case of the petitioner that he was employed as a
Receptionist when the Board came into existence. It is his grievance that i1e
was not being paid due salary by the Board. The petitioner filed writ petition
SWP No. 663/1993 before the High Court for appropriate reliefs, which is
                                                                                   G
stated to be pending. •

      On 2.3.1998 the petitioner was served with a charge sheet levelling
allegations of misconduct against him for alleged misappropriation of Rs. 20.
An enquiry was held and a show cause notice dated 21.3 .1998 was served            H
     804                       SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

,A ,on the petitioner to show cause why his service should not be terminated.
     Finally, after considering the reply, the petitioner was dismissed from service
     on 30.3.1998. The petitioner filed the writ petition before the High Court
     challenging termination of his service. The learned Single Judge referred the
     writ petition !O a larger bench in view of the important question oflaw arising
B _ there~o ....Finally, a Division Bench of the High Court by its judgment dated
   · 2'.T. l .200 I, following the earlier Division Bench judgment in LPA No. 182/
     92 and 183/92 dated 27 .1. I 999, held that the writ petition was not maintainable
     and dismissed the writ petition. The petitioner seeks special leave to appeal
     against the judgment of the High Court.

C    C.A. Nos. 4596199, 4597-4598199 and SLP(C) No. 819212001:

            Leave granted in the special leave petition.

           At the outset, we asked the learned counsel appearing for the appellants
     as to why they did not seek relief before an appropriate forum-Civil Court
D    in the case of the dispute with regard to licence/tenancy, and Labour Court,
     with regard to the dispute pertaining to the service matter. Learned counsel
     replied that the appellants have been placed in a very unenviable predicament,
     being treated neither as fowl nor fish. According to the appellants, Section
     20 of the 1988 Act bars the civil court from entertaining a suit or proceeding
E    against the Board or its officers for anything done or purported to be done
     in good faith under the 1988 Act. Learned counsel contended that the se~tion
     is so widely worded that it conceivably bars all proceedings in Civil Courts
     as also before Labour Courts/Tribunals. On this understanding of the
     provision of Section 20, the appellants in this case chose to move the High
     Court by their writ petitions under Article I 03 read with Article l 0 of the
F    Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir (corresponding to Article 226 of the
     Constitution oflndia). Counsel urge that it is unfortunate that the High Court
     h~s erroneously held that the Shrine Board is not even amenable to the writ
     jurisdiction, as it is not "State" within the meaning of Article 12 of the
     Constitution of India. In th,e submission of the learned counsel, the High
G    Court has fallen into error on two counts. First, in considering itself bound
     by certain pronouncements of the decision of this Court in Bhuri Nath and
     Ors. v. State ofJ & K and Ors. 1 although, the observations were made in a
     totally different context, wholly distinguishable, and do not lay down the


H     1.   (19971 2 sec 745.
     CHAIN SINGH v. MA1" VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRIKRISHNA, J.]        805

proposition of law as understood by the High Court. Secondly, for deciding         A
the issue as to whether the Shrine Board was "State", the High Court has
applied certain tests which are erroneous, and failed to apply other tests which
have now been held necessary in view of the judgment of a Bench of Seven
learned Judges of this Court rendered in Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian
Institute of Chemical Biology and Ors. 2 • The High Court has relied on the
                                                                                   B
tests prescribed in Sabhajit Tewary v. Union of lndia3 , which has been
specifically overruled in Pradeep Kumar Biswas (supra).

      The learned counsel for the respondents, however, maintained that the
observations made in Bhuri Nath (supra) were directly relevant and applicable.
On the second issue, however, learned counsel for the respondents contended        c
that if this Court comes to the conclusion that the present appeals are not
concluded by the decision in Bhuri Nath (supra) then the matters may be
remitted to the High Court for deciding the tenability of the writ petitions
in the light of the law laid down in Pradeep Kumar Biswas (supra).

      The facts in Bhuri Nath (supra) and the background in which the
                                                                                   D
relevant observations in Paragraph 33 were made need to be considered in
detail.

      As already recounted, the direct result of the 1988 Act coming into force
was the extinction of the rights of the Baridars by reason of sub section ( 1)     E
of Section 19 of the 1988 Act. Sub section (I) of Section 19 provides, "all
rights of Baridars shall stand extinguished from the date of commencemert
of this Act." There is a proviso thereto under which the Governor is
empowered to appoint a Tribunal which could recommend the compensation
to be paid by the Board in lieu of extinction of the rights of the Baridars,
after having due regard to the income which the Baridar had been deriving
                                                                                   F
as Baridars. The Board is, thereafter, required to examine the recommendations
forwarded to it by the T~ibunal and take such decision as it may deem
appropriate and its decision shall be final. Where a Baridar surrenders his
rights and offers himself for employment to the Board, there is certain
preferential right of appointment, subject to suitabil~ty. Section 19 deals with   G
three kinds of persons: (i) Baridars - their rights stand extinguished on the
coming into force of the 1988 Act, (ii) Employees of the Dharmarth Trust


2.   r20021 s sec 111.
3.   [1975) 1 sec 485.                                                             H
    806                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A   - they become employees of the Board on the commencement of the 1988
    Act, (iii) Shopkeepers and other lease holders, who were tenants - they
    become the tenants of the Board.

          Some of the Baridars, whose rights stood extinguished by reason of the
    1988 Act, challenged the constitutional validity of the 1988 Act, as infringing
B   Articles 19(1)(t) am:!. 31 of the Constitution of India, which continue to apply
    to the Jammu & Kashmir area.

          Bhuri Nath (supra) examined the scheme of the 1988 Act and noticed
    that under sub section (I) of Section 19, all rights of Baridars stood
C   extinguished. It W.!lS contended on behalf of the Baridars that repeal of
    A.rticles 19( 1)(f) and 31 of the Constitution of India by the Constitution
    (Forty-fourth) Amendment Act, 1978, w.e.f. 20.6.1979, does not apply to the
    State of Jammu & Kashmir; the Iight to property continued to be a
    fundamental right of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir; the 1988 Act made
    no provision for payment of compensation or guidelines for determination
D   of compensation to Baridars, whose rights are extinguished; the Board being
    a controlled Corporation, is an arm of the Govemrm:nt; all the properties of
    the Shrine.stand vested in the Government. They relied on several provisions
    of the 1988 Act with regard to the constitution of the Board in order to
    contend that the Board is a "State-controlled Corporation". The Baridars
E   further contended that, offerings and other properties were acquired under
    the 1988 Act and got vested-in the cofttrolled Corporation, viz., the Board.
    For their abolition, the Baridars were entitled to compensation and inasmuch
    as Section 19 makes no provision for compensation, the 1988 Act was
    unconstitutional and ultra vires the powers of the legislature.

F        On behalf of the Board, clause (2-A) of Article 31 of the Constiti.ition
    of India was emphasised, which reads as under:

             ''.(2-A) Where a law does not provide for the transfer of the
             ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to
             a corporation owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be
G            deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning
             of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his
             property."

    It was contended that the Shrine Board is not a 'contrplled Corporation' and
H   the properties and offerings vested in it are not owned or controlled by the
     CHAIN SINGH v. MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRIKRISHNA, J.]         807

State or their ownership is not transferred to any State controlled Corporation.    A
It was also contended that the Board is a statutory authority under the 1988
Act set up for better management, administration and governance of the
Shrine and its endowments including the lands and buildings attached, or
aJ9purtenant to the Shrine within the premises specified in the preamble 6f
the 1988 Act. Relying on the judgments of Punjab & Haryana High Court
                                                                                    B
in Hardwari Lal v. G.D. Tapase 4 and Andhra Pradesh High Court in Kiran
Babu v. Govt. of A.P. 5 , it was urged that when the Governor exercises his
power under the Act in the capacity of ex-officio Chairman, he does not
exercise power as the executive head of the State and his role is limited to
the traditional role to ensure proper management and responsible administration
of the religious institutions or endowments and o(their properties and nothing      c
more. Hence: it was contended by the counsel of the Shrine Board as well
as the counsel for the State that, though the properties of the Shrine and funds
are under Vie control of.the State, the properties were not vested in the State
and so the 1988 Act was a valid law. They distinguished between acquisition
 and deprivation. While the 1988 Act deprives Baridars of their right to
                                                                                    D
 receive offerings, there was no acquisition by the State, since mere deprivation
 does not amount to acquisition. Hence, it was urged that the 1988 Act was
 not ultra vires the Constitution.

   • This Court in Bhuri Nath (supra) accepted the distinction drawn
between the executive power of the Governor as executive head of the State          E
and power exercised under the Act by his role as ex officio Chairman. The
Division Bench of two learned Judges raised the question, "whe~ the
Governor discharged this function .under the Act as executive head of the
State, is it with the aid and advise under the Council of Ministers or in his
official capacity as the Governor?" The Division Bench answered the
question and sai~; "the exercise of power and functions under the Act is
                                                                                    F
distinct and different from those exercises formally in his name with Council
of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister."

    Finally, taking up the question whether the Board is a "Controlled
Corporation" within the meaning of clause (2-A) of Article 31, after                G
examining the provisions of the 1988 Act in detail, and noticing the
judgments in Gullapalli Nageswara Rao v. A.P. SRTC6 and Union of India

4.   AIR (1982) P&H 439.
5.   AIR (19R6) AP 275.
6.   [1959] Supp. I SCR 319.                                                        H
    808                        SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A   v. Sudhansu Mazumdar', it was observed thus in Paragraph 33:

                  "33. In Constitutional Law of India by HM Seervai (3rd Edn.),
                  Vol.II, at p. I 109 in para 30, it is stated that distinction between
                  ordinary acquisitions where law provides full compensation and
                  large schemes of social engineering or reform which would have to
B                 be located at from the point of view of justice to the individual as
                  well as to the community, is harmonised by the legal view. In the
                  afterlight of Bela Banerjee case8 , it is clear that the eminent lawyers
                  (Founding Fathers of the Constitution) committed a grave error in
                  leaving to implication what they could have clearly expressed in
c                 Article 3 I (2). Bela Banerjee case9 showed that the intention of the
                  framers failed because it was not expressly embodied in Article
                  31(2). Obviously, an amendment of the Constitution is meant to
                  change the existing law, and the 4th Amendment by excluding the
                  challenge on the ground of adequacy of compensation was meant
                  to change the law laid down in Bela Banerjee case 10 that compensation
D                 under Article 31(2) meant a full and fair money equivalent. After
                  the 4th Amendment, the word "compensation", could not mean a
                  full and fair money equivalent, for if it did, the law would have
                  remained unchanged and the 4th Amendment would have failed in
                  its purpose. By excluding a challenge on the ground that the
E                 compensation provided by the law was not adequate, the 4th
                  Amendment removed the restriction on legislative power in the
                  sense that for the law to be valid it was no longer obligatory to
                  provide for the payment of full and fair money equivalent. After the
                  4th Amendment a law which fixed compensation which amounted
                  to 80 per cent of full and fair money equivalent would not violate
F                 Article 31(2) and was a valid law. The 4th Amendment achieved this
                  result by introducing the concept of inadequate compensation. On
                  consideration of above provisions, we have, therefore, no hesitation
                  to hold that the Board is not a controlled Corporation within the
                  meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. By operation of clause
G                 (2-A) of Article 31 of the Constitution the Board or the properties


    7.    (19711 3 sec 265.
    8. (1954] SCR 558.
    9.    ibid.
H   10. ibid.
    CHAIN SINGH v. MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRIKRISHNA, J.]          809

         of the Shrine did not vest in the State. The right to collection of the    A
         offerings or the divestment of the properties, if any, of the Baridars
         or the right to collection or a share in the offerings do not vest in
         the State. Consequently, Section 19( 1) of the Act is not ultra vires
         Article 19(1 )(f) or Article 31 (2) of the Constitution."

      It became necessary for us to make an in depth examination of the ratio       B
in Bhuri Nath (supra), as it is strongly contenged by the respondents, and
accepted by the High Court, that Bhuri Nath clinches the argument against
the appellants and holds that the Shrine Board is not amenable to the writ
jurisdiction of High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

      In our view, the contention has no merit. Bhuri Nath was not concerned
                                                                                    c
with the issue as to whether the sweep of Article 226 could extend to the
Shrine Board. As already pointed out, the question before the court was
whether the right to property of the Baridars had merely been extinguished
or it had been transferred to a 'State controlled Corporation', which would
determine whether the Baridars had a right to compensation or not. This, in         D
tum, would determine the constitutional validity of the 1988 Act, which
prescribed no principles or guidelines on which compensation was to be paid
to the Baridars, whose rights were extinguished. None of these issues touched
the question whether the Shrine Board was amenable to the writ jurisdiction
of the High Court. All that was decided is that the Shrine Board is not a 'State    E
controlled Corporation'. This issue, per se, is not determinative of the issue
as to whether the Shrine Board is amenable to the writ jurisdiction of High
Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The sweep of Article
226 of the Constitution is much wider. It can be exercised against "any person
or authority", including in appropriate cases "any Government".
                                                                                    F
     Article 12 finds its place in Part III, and reads as under:

         12. Definition.- In this part, unless the context otherwise requires,
         "the State" includes the Government and Parliament oflndia and the
         Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local
         or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control
                                                                                    G
         of the Government of India."

Its purpose is to define the word 'State' where it occurs in Part III relating
to fundamental rights. Here also, the inclusive definition takes within its fold,
apart from the Government, Parliament of India and the Legislature of the           H
    "810                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A   States, "all local or other authorities". It is in this context, that the theory of
    'instrumentality' or 'agency of State' was developed in Ajay Hasia v. Khalid
    Mujib 11 , and Ramanna v. lnternationa/ Airport Authority oflndia 12 , wherein
    detailed tests were· laid down. Notwithstanding the tests laid down, certain
    i?stitutions, which were incorporated as Societies, were held to fall outside
    the purview of Article 12 in Sabhajit Tewary's case (supra). The apparent
B
    inconsistencies which had developed in the law were reconciled by the larger
    Bench of Seven learned Judges in Pradeep Kumar Biswas (supra) which has
    laid down the correct tests to be applied to decide whether any entity is an
    instrumentality or agency of the State, and therefore, amenable to the writ
    jurisdiction of the High· Court.
c
         Perhaps, in somt! respects, the correctness of some of the observations
    in Bhuri Nath (supra) are open to debate in the light of the principles laid
    down in Pradeep Kumar Biswas case (supra). Since, however, the High Court
    had no occasion or benefit of considering the law laid down in Pradeep
    Kumar Biswas (supra), it would be inappropriate for us to express any
D   opinion thereupon. Suffice it for us to say that, Bhuri Nath does not, in any
    way, lay down the law as understood by the High Court, namely, that the
    Shrine Board is not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.

          We are inclined to agree with the learned counsel for the respondents,
E   Shri P.P. Rao, that the matter should be remitted to the High Court for
    consideration of the issue of the amenability of the Board to the writ
    jurisdiction of the High C<;mrt in the light of the law laid· down in 1'radeep
    Kumar Biswas .(supra). The High Court has also not gone into the merits of
    the cases before it in view of its decision on the maintainability of the writ
    petitions.
F
          Taking all these circumstances into consideration, we are of tile view
    that the impugned judgments of the High Court are required to be set aside.

           Hence, the following order:
G
         We allow the appeals and setting aside the impugned judgments of the
    High Court, remit LPA No. 182 of 1992, LPA No. 183 of 1993, writ petition,
    OWP No. 523 of 1995 and writ petition, SWP No. 930of1998 to the High

    l l. AIR (1981) SC 487.
H   12. AIR (1979) SC 1628.
    CHAIN SINGH v. MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD [SRIKRISHNA. J.]          811

Court for hearing and decision in accordance with the law laid down by this         A
Court in Pradeep Kumar Biswas case (supra).

      We have refrained from expressing any view on the apprehension
voiced by the learned counsel for the appellants that Section 20 of the 1988
Act bars civil suits and adjudications under labour laws. The High. Court
shall, therefore, first consider the maintainability of the writ petitions under
                                                                                    B
Article 226 of the Constitution of India by examining whether the Shrine
Board is amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court, by applying the
principles and tests laid down i? Pradeep Kumar Biswas case (supra).

      The High Court shall also consider whether any alternative remedy is          c
avaitable to the writvetitioners by way of civil suit or industrial adjudication.
It shall be open to the High Court to take an appropriate decision thereupon,
including the relegation of the parties to the appropriate remedy, ifthe High
Court upon interpretation of the provision of Section 20 of the 1988 Act
comes to the conclusion that such alternative remedy is available to the writ
petitioners before it.                                                              D

     In case the High Court takes the view that writ petitions are tenable,
and that !IO other equally efficacious alternative remedy is available to the
writ petitioners, then the Hi~h Court shall decide the writ petitions on their
merits.                                                                             E
                                                           0
      Although, learned counsel have cited before us a large number of
authorities, we consider it unnecessary to refer to them in the view we are
inclined to take.

    All coatentions of the parties are kept open to be canvassed before the         F
High Court.                                               ·

     Considering that the writ petitions have been pending. for quite some
time, and that they also pertain to cases of termination of services of
employees, it is preferable that the hearing of the writ petitions is expedited.
The High Court is requested to dispose of the writ petitions, preferably,
                                                                                    G
within a period of six months from the receipt of this judgment.

v.s.s.                                                    Appeals disposed of.