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The facts of the case are set forth with utmost particularity in the judgment of the High Court. It will, therefore, not be inconvenient to deal with them as briefly as possible. The history of the Garwhaghat Math is as follows: In 1925, Swami Sarupanand Paramhans, disciple of Swami Advaitanand, a Hindu ascetic belonging to the 'Sant Mat' sect, came from the North-Western Provinces, and took his abode at Garwaghat, Mouza Ramna Malhija, in the vicinity of Varanasi City. He was a religious preceptor of great learning and from his hermitage preached the tenets and precepts of the 'Sant Mat' and soon had a large following. He was treated with great veneration and some of his devotees by a registered gift deed dated March 18, 1935 endowed the land and building, which he named as 'Bangla Kuti'. Subsequently the said Bangla Kuti and other lands and buildings appurtenant and adjacent thereto came to be known as the Garwaghat Math of which Swami Sarupanand was initially the mahant. He paid a visit to village Khuruhja for a couple of days and Baikunth Singh, father of defendant No. 5, Sri Krishna Singh, the appellant, was greatly influenced by his preachings and left for Varanasi for good. In due course, Baikunth Singh was initiated as chela by Swami Sarupanand who named him as Atmavivekanand. Swami Atmavivekanand Paramhans was the chief disciple of Swami Sarupanand and was given full rights of initiation and Bhesh by his Guru. Swami Sarupanand took his samadhi at Meerut in 1936 and after his death, according to his wishes, his Bhesh and Sampradya gave Swami Atmavivekanand Chadar Mahanti of Garwaghat Math and made him the mahant. Swami Atmavivekanand also had a large following and his 'Sant Mat' fraternity which comprised of thousands of Grihastha and Virakta disciples made large offerings and gifted extensive properties to him as their religious or spiritual leader.

He accordingly held that the plaintiff and his predecessors, Swami Sarupanand and Swami Atmavivekanand were not legally incompetent to be the mahants of the math. They did not inflict themselves on the religious fraternity of Sant Mat Sampradaya nor had they been foisted into the office of mahant against the will or in spite of the disapproval of the religious fraternity. In any event, even if the plaintiff was disqualified being a Sudra, he was entitled to sue as the de facto mahant.

From a review of the general mass of evidence the High Court, agreeing with the learned Munsif, held that the followers of the 'Sant Mat' fraternity are members of a religious order. The long line of witnesses who were all disciples of Swami Sarupanand and/or Swami Atmavivekanand have clearly established that it is a religious institution of monastic nature. It is established for the service of the 'Sant Mat' cult, the instruction in its tenets and observance of its rites. The Swamiji who is the Guru is the Mahant, the spiritual and religious leader of the fraternity.

The document Ext. 100, prepared by the 'Sant Mat' fraternity on this A occasion and the photograph Ext. 121, taken lends assurance to the testimony of these witnesses that the plaintiff Harsewanand was installed as the mahant of the math in accordance with the express desire of Swami Atmavivekanand.

The learned Civil Judge in his judgment observes: 'The fact of Harsewanand being a sanyasi remains undoubted'. His finding that he was not a Hindu sanyasi was based upon the view that under Hindu law mere 'renunciation' of the world is not sufficient. Hence, he holds that a Sudra who renounced the world and became sanyasi cannot be said to be a Hindu sanyasi, as according to the Hindu Sastras no Sudra can become a sanyasi. The underlying fallacy lies in his over-looking that the question had to be determined not according to the orthodox view, but according to the usage or custom of the particular sect or fraternity. It is needless to stress that a religious denomination or institution enjoys complete autonomy in the matter of laying down the rites and ceremonies which are essential. We must accordingly hold that the plaintiff was the validly initiated 1) chela of Swami Atmavivekanand and upon his demise was duly installed as the mahant of Garwaghat Math according to the tenets of his 'Sant Mat' Sampradaya.