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Shri Jain Shwetamber Shri Sangh Panjikrit Sanstha v. State of Rajasthan and Others

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 41Decided 6 Jan 2025
C.A. No.-000206-000206 - 2025 (arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 25759 of 2023)
Justice J.K. Maheshwari · Justice Rajesh Bindal

Background

Two Jain religious trusts, Shri Jain Shwetambar Shree Sangh (the appellant) and Shri Jain Shwetambar Khartargachh Sangh, were locked in a long-running dispute over ownership and management of the Dadabari temple complex in Ajmer and two other Ajmer temples, arising from a Rajasthan High Court decision against the appellant. The Supreme Court referred the dispute to mediation, appointing former Supreme Court judge Justice S. Ravindra Bhat as mediator.

Decision Breakdown

The mediation succeeded, and the parties signed a comprehensive compromise: the Khartargachh Sangh would retain sole ownership of the Dadabari complex, while the appellant Sangh would retain sole ownership of the two Ajmer temples and specified bank accounts; the Khartargachh Sangh would pay the appellant Rs. 8.11 crore (already fully paid by the time of the order); and several other pending cases between the two trusts would be withdrawn or closed. The Supreme Court recorded the settlement, disposed of the appeal by modifying the lower courts' judgment and decree to incorporate the compromise, and directed the other pending proceedings between the parties to stand disposed of as settled.

Lesson Learnt

Even deep-rooted, long-standing institutional and religious property disputes can be resolved through court-facilitated mediation, and the Supreme Court will readily convert a genuine negotiated settlement into a binding court order rather than adjudicate the underlying merits.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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