The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Charitable Trust challenging a communication dated September 4, 2024, by which the Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee constituted a Medical Board for the improvement and functioning of its institute.
The 500-bedded hospital and medical college, constructed by the trust, commenced working from March 2006, the bench was told during the course of the hearing.
Justice Jagmohan Bansal observed that the petition was “sans merit and deserves to be dismissed,” thereby declining to restrain the Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee and other respondents from interfering in the affairs of the trust.
The court, in its detailed order, observed that the petitioner-trust’s stand in the matter was that it was an independent legal entity, not governed by the Sikh Gurudwara Act, 1925. As such, it is beyond the regulatory reach of the Haryana Sikh Gurudwara (Management) Act, 2014.
The bench, during the course of the hearing, was told that the 2014 Act, extending to the entire state of Haryana, came into force from July 18, 2014. The executive board and committee constituted under its provisions had the power to manage the gurudwara and gurudwara property situated within the jurisdiction of the state of Haryana.
Going into the background of the matter, Justice Bansal observed that the SGPC in December 2005 constituted the Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences & Charitable Trust at Shahabad (Kurukshetra) for establishing a medical college and hospital.
“The SGPC, till the filing of the writ petition, extended a grant of Rs 111.30 crores to the petitioner. Shri Mastgarh Sahib Gurudwara, as well as Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, gave on lease land to the Trust where a medical college has been set up,” Justice Bansal observed, adding that the construction costs were fully borne by SGPC.
The bench added that the trust was created to comply with mandatory statutory provisions and a Supreme Court judgment governing the setting up of a medical college and hospital.
“These factors collectively indicate that SGPC has wide and pervasive control over the Trust. In the sense of the Companies Act, it can be called a limited company whose 100 per cent share capital and composition of Board of Directors is controlled by one person or a family,” Justice Bansal asserted.
Haryana SGPC was represented in the matter by senior advocate Gaurav Chopra, along with counsel Rashpinder Singh Sohi, Himanshu Bindal and Darika Sikka.
Before parting with the judgment, Justice Bansal asserted: “The petitioner-trust was created by SGPC and all the trustees were/are appointed by SGPC. Property held by the petitioner was given by the SGPC as a grant or lease. The head office of the trust is in the office of SGPC, Amritsar. The President of the SGPC is ex officio chairman of the trust. If at any stage, the trust is closed, as per a Clause of the Trust deed, all the properties of the trust would go to Sri Harminder Sahib, Amritsar. SGPC created the trust because, as per statutory provisions and judgment of the Supreme Court, it could not set up a Medical College and Hospital. All these factors collectively establish that the property of the petitioner is actually property of the SGPC.”
