Expression "religious denomination" - Indian Laws - General

Expression religious denomination Shirur Mutt- 1954 (4) TMI 29 - SUPREME COURT, wherein the Court observed thus: As regards Article 26, the first question is, what is the precise meaning or connotation of the expression religious denomination and whether a Math could come within this expression. The word denomination has been defined in the Oxford Dictionary to mean 'a collection of individuals classed together under the same name: a religious sect or body having a common faith and Organisation and designated by a distinctive name. It is well known that the practice of setting up Maths as centres of the logical teaching was started by Shri Sankaracharya and was followed by various teachers since then. After Sankara, came a galaxy of religious teachers and philosophers who founded the different sects and sub-sects of the Hindu religion that we find in India at the present day. Each one of such sects or sub-sects can certainly be balled a religious denomination, as it is designated by a distinctive name, -in many cases it is the name of the founder, - and has a common faith and common spiritual organization. The followers of Ramanuja, who are known by the name of Shri Vaishnabas, undoubtedly constitute a religious denomination; and so do the followers of Madhwacharya and other religious teachers. It is a fact well established by tradition that the eight UdipiMaths were founded by Madhwacharya himself and the trustees and the beneficiaries of these Maths profess to be followers of that teacher. The High Court has found that the Math in question is in charge of the Sivalli Brahmins who constitute a section of the followers of Madhwacharya. As article 26 contemplates not merely a religious denomination but also a section thereof, the Math or the spiritual fraternity represented by it can legitimately come within the purview of this article. In S.P. Mittal v. Union of India Ors.- 1982 (11) TMI 169 - SUPREME COURT, wherein he noted that the judicial definition of a religious denomination laid down by this Court is, unlike a statutory definition, a mere explanation. After observing that any freedom or right involving the conscience must be given a wide interpretation, and the expressions religion and religious denomination must be interpreted in a liberal, expansive way : 21 the expression religious denomination may be defined with less difficulty. As we mentioned earlier Mukherjea, J., borrowed the meaning of the word denomination from the Oxford Dictionary and adopted it to define religious denomination as a collection of individuals classed together under the same name, a religious sect or body having a common faith and organisation and designated by a distinctive name. The followers of Ramanuja, the followers of Madhwacharya, the followers of Vallabha, the Chistia Soofies have been found or assumed by the Court to be religious denominations. It will be noticed that these sects possess no distinctive names except that of their founder-teacher and had no special organisation except a vague, loose un-knit one. The really distinctive feature about each one of these sects was a shared belief in the tenets taught by the teacher-founder. We take care to mention here that whatever the ordinary features of a religious denomination may be considered to be, all are not of equal importance and surely the common faith of the religious body is more important than the other features Religious denomination has not to owe allegiance to any parent religion. The entire following of a religion may be no more than the religious denomination. This may be particularly be so in the case of small religious groups or developing religions, that is, religions in the formative stage. [INDIAN YOUNG LAWYERS ASSOCIATION - 2018 (9) TMI 1790 - SUPREME COURT]