Durgah khawaja Saheb Act, 1955
No: 36 Dated: Oct, 14 1955
THE DURGAH KHAWAJA SAHEB ACT, 1955
ACT NO. 36 OF 1955
An Act to make provision for the proper administration of the Durgah and the Endowment of the Durgah of Khawaja Moin-ud-din Chishti, generally known as Durgah Khawaja Saheb, Ajmer.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Durgah Khawaja Saheb Act, 1955.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner of Ajmer, acting in his individual capacity;
(b) “Committee” means the Committee consituted under section 4;
(c) “Durgah” means the institution known as the Durgah Khawaja Saheb, Ajmer, and includes the premises called the Durgah Sharif with all buildings contained therein, together with all additions thereto or all alerations thereof which may hereafter be made from time to time;
(d) “Durgah Endowment” includes—
(i) the Durgah Khawaja Saheb, Ajmer;
(ii) all buildings and movable property within the boundaries of the Durgah Sharif;
(iii) Durgah Jagir, including all land, houses and shops and all immovable property wherever situated belonging to the Durgah Sharif;
(iv) all other property and all income derived from any source whatsoever dedicated to the Durgah or placed for any religious, pious or charitable purposes under the Durgah Administration, including the Jagirdari villages of Hokran and Kishanpur in Ajmer; and
(v) all such nazars of offerings as are received on behalf of the Durgah by the Nazim or any person authorised by him;
(e) “Nazim” means the Nazim appointed under section 9.
3. Act to override Act XX of 1863.—This Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Religious Endowments Act, 1863 (XX of 1863).
4. The Committee.—(1) The administration, control and management of the Durgah Endowment shall be vested in a Committee constituted in the manner hereinafter provided.
(2) The Committee shall by the name of “The Durgah Committee, Ajmer”, be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall by the said name sue and be sued through its president.
5. Composition of Committee.—The Committee shall consist of not less than five and not more than nine members all of whom shall be Hanafi Muslims and shall be appointed by the Central Government.
6. Term of office and resignation and removal of members and casual vacancies.—(1) A member of the Committee shall hold office for a period of five years from the date of his appointment but may resign his office earlier by giving notice in writing thereof to the Central Government and shall cease to be a member on the resignation being accepted by that Government.
(2) The Central Government may remove from office any member of the Committee—
(a) who is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court, or
(b) who has applied for being adjudged an insolvent, or is an undischarged insolvent, or
(c) who has been convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude, or
(d) who has absented himself for a period of twelve consecutive months from the meetings of the Committee; or
(e) whose presence on the Committee would, in the opinion of the Central Government, be prejudicial to the interests of the Durgah.
(3) Casual vacancies among members of the Committee shall be filled by appointment made by the Central Government inconsultation with the remaining members of the Committee.
(4) The term of office of a member appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall be for so long only as the member whose place has been filled would have been entitled to hold office if the vacancy had not occurred.
7. President and vice-president.—(1) The Committee shall elect a president and a vice-president from among its members.
(2) When the office of the president is vacant or in the absence of the president from any meeting, the vice-president shall perform the functions of the president.
(3) In the absence of the president and vice president, a meeting of the Committee may be presided over by a member elected by the majority of the members present at the meeting.
8. Supersession of the Committee.—If in the opinion of the Central Government the Committee is guilty of gross mismanagement of the affairs of the Durgah or of neglect in the performance of its functions, the Central Government may supersede the Committee and entrust any person with full powers of the Committee until a new Committee is constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.