Law and You > Constitutional Law > Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs (Article 26)
One of the rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution is the right to Freedom of Religion. As a secular nation, every citizen of India has the right to freedom of religion i.e., right to follow any religion. As one can find so many religions being practiced in India, the constitution guarantees to every citizen the liberty to follow the religion of their choice. According to this fundamental right, every citizen has the opportunity to practice and spread their religion peacefully. And if any incidence of religious intolerance occurs in India, it is the duty of the Indian government to curb these incidences and take strict actions against it. Right to freedom of religion is well described in the Articles 25 to 28 of Indian constitution. Let uis discuss article 25 of the Constitution of India dealing with the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. In this article, we shall didscuss Article 26 which deals with the freedom to manage religious affairs
Article 26:
Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs:
Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right-
(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;
(b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
(c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and
(d) to administer such property in accordance with law.
Article 25 guarantees rights of individuals, while Article 26 guarantees rights of religious denominations or their sections. In other words, Article 26 protects collective freedom of religion.
Religious Denomination:
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity. The word ‘religious denomination’ is not defined in the constitution.
In Commissioner, Hindu Religious endowment Madras v. Shri Laxmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Shri Shirur Mutt, AIR 1954 SC 282 case, the meaning of ‘Denomination’ was culled out from the Oxford dictionary, “A collection of individuals classed together under the same name, a religious sect or body having a common faith and organization designated by a distinctive name”.
A religious denomination’s right to manage its religious affairs is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. No legislation can violate it except for health, morality and public order. A religious denomination must satisfy three conditions:
- It should be a collection of individuals who have a system of beliefs (doctrines) which they regard as conducive to their spiritual well-being;
- It should have a common organisation; and
- It should be designated by a distinctive name.
Under the above criteria, the Supreme Court held that the ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ and ‘Ananda Marga’ are religious denominations within the Hindu religion. It also held that Aurobindo Society is not a religious denomination.
Under Article 26 (b), a religious denomination or organization enjoys complete autonomy in the matter of deciding as to what rites and ceremonies are essential according to the tenets of the religion they hold and no outside authority has any jurisdiction to interfere with their decision in such matters. But according to clause (d) the right to administer property associated with religion can be exercised only “in accordance with law”. In other words, the State can regulate the administration of religious property by way of validly enacted laws.
Rights Guaranteed Under Article 26:
Right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purpose:
The constitution makers believed that for the establishment of religious and charitable institutions it is vital to have the right to freely manage and administer thereof. For a religious denomination to maintain the religious institution, it has to be first established by the denomination claiming such right.
In Azeez Basha v. Union of India, AIR 1968 SC 662 case, certain amendments were made in the year 1951 and 1965 to the Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920. These amendments were challenged by the petitioner on the ground that: a) They infringe on the fundamental right under Article 30 to establish and administer educational institutions and b) Rights of the Muslim minority under Article 25, 26, 29 were violated. It was held by the Supreme Court that prior to 1920 there was nothing that could prevent Muslim minorities from establishing universities. The Aligarh Muslim University was established under the legislation (Aligarh Muslim University Act,1920) and therefore cannot claim that the university was established by the Muslim Community as it was brought into existence by the central legislation and not by the Muslim minority.
Right to manage its own religious affairs:
Article 25(2) (b) upholds the individual’s protection from discrimination and Article 26(b) on the contrary upholds the institutional right to an organised religious practice. Matter of religion includes religious practices, rituals, observances, ceremonies, mode and manner of worship, etc., regarded as the essential and integral part of the religion.
In Sri Venkataramana Devaru v. The State of Mysore, AIR 1958 SC 255 case where the court held that “matters of religion” in Article 26 includes those tenets and practices of a religion that are basic to the religion fall within its ambit. ceremonies when only members of the community are entitled to participate to the exclusion of all others.
In Mahant Sri Jagannath Ramanuj Das v State of Orissa, AIR 1954 SC 400 case, the Supreme Court held that the expression ‘matters of religion’ in Article 26 extends to acts done in pursuance of religion and covers rituals, observances, ceremonies and modes of worship.
Right to own and acquire movable and immovable property along with the right to administer it:
The right to own and acquire property is an important right for any institution to manage its own affairs. It is not possible for a body to function effectively if it does not have the freedom to manage and administer its property. This is not an absolute right in the sense that it does not take away the power of the state to acquire the property of the religious denomination. Therefore, not only the denomination but also the state can govern the property.
The restriction, however, has to reasonable and not of nature so as to completely negate the right. Moreover, the clause (d) uses the phrase ‘in accordance with the law’ which entails that state can regulate the administration be means of a valid legislation. This is also the distinction between clause (b) and clause (d). The right to manage religious affairs cannot be abridged by any law.
In Bira Kishore Dev v. State of Orissa, AIR 1964 SC 1501 case, the validity of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 was challenged on the ground that the Act is discriminatory in nature and violates Article 26 (d) of the Constitution. It was 20 contended by the petitioner (Raja of Puri) that the temple was his private property and he had the sole right over management as well as superintendence of the temple. The Act took away the sole management of the temple from the appellant and vested it with the Committee. Dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court held that there was no violation of the fundamental right of freedom of religion of the petitioner and the Act only dealt with the secular management of the institution.
In State of Rajasthan v. Sajjanlal Panjawat, 1975 AIR 706 case, the Supreme Court observed that even though the state has the power to administer or regulate the properties of a trust, but it cannot by law take away the right to administer such property and vest it in such other authority that does not even comprise the denomination. This would certainly amount to a violation of Article 26(d) of the Constitution.
Conclusion:
Article 26 provides that every religious denomination has the following rights, subject to morality, health, and public order:
- The right to form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable intents.
- The right to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
- The right to acquire the immovable and movable property.
- The right to administer such property according to the law.