SGPC-Controlled Medical Trust Is ‘Gurdwara Property’: Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Haryana Committee’s Authority Over Miri Piri Medical College
Case Name: Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Charitable Trust v. State of Haryana and Another
Date of Judgment: 12 May 2026
Citation: CWP-25750-2024
Bench: Justice Jagmohan Bansal
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that the Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Charitable Trust, though constituted as a separate trust, remained under the pervasive control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and its assets constituted “Gurdwara property” under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014. The Court ruled that the Trust was created merely as a statutory vehicle to establish and operate a medical college and hospital in compliance with medical education regulations, and not to create an entirely independent legal entity insulated from SGPC control. Consequently, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee was held competent to exercise supervisory authority over the institution.
Summary: The petitioner Trust challenged communication dated 04.09.2024 issued by the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee constituting a Medical Board for the upliftment and functioning of the Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences & Research at Shahabad, Kurukshetra. The petitioner sought protection against alleged interference by the respondents in the affairs of the Trust.
The case arose in the backdrop of establishment of the Trust by SGPC in December 2005 as part of the commemorative programme relating to the 400th anniversary of the compilation of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The Trust was created for establishing a medical college and 500-bedded hospital in Haryana. Land measuring 25 acres was leased to the Trust by SGPC-controlled Gurdwaras and substantial financial grants exceeding ₹111 crores were provided by SGPC for construction and operation of the institution.
The petitioner argued that it was an independent charitable trust having a separate legal identity distinct from SGPC and that its assets did not fall within the expression “Gurdwara property” under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014. It was contended that although the Trust had originally been established by SGPC, it thereafter acquired an autonomous legal existence and therefore the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee lacked authority to interfere in its functioning.
Opposing the petition, the respondents asserted that the Trust had merely been created by SGPC as an institutional mechanism for running the medical college and that SGPC retained complete and pervasive control over its affairs. It was pointed out that the President of SGPC was the ex-officio Chairman of the Trust, all trustees were appointed by SGPC, the Trust’s head office operated from SGPC premises at Amritsar, and the underlying land and financial resources belonged to SGPC-controlled Gurdwaras.
Justice Jagmohan Bansal extensively examined the Trust Deed as well as the earlier Division Bench judgment in Miri Piri College Bachao Sangharsh Samiti v. SGPC, wherein the establishment of the Trust had earlier been upheld. The Court noted that the earlier Division Bench had specifically recognized that the Trust was constituted because statutory medical education regulations and Supreme Court precedents required professional colleges to be run through a trust or society structure. The Court emphasized that the earlier judgment itself recorded that SGPC retained complete control over appointment of trustees and management of the institution.
The High Court further observed that the Trust’s existence and functioning were inseparably connected with SGPC. The land continued to remain owned by SGPC-controlled Gurdwaras, the infrastructure was financed through SGPC funds, and even upon dissolution of the Trust all properties would revert to Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. These circumstances clearly demonstrated that the Trust had not been created to establish an independent institution detached from SGPC but merely to satisfy regulatory requirements governing establishment of medical colleges.
Interpreting Section 2(f) of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014 defining “Gurdwara property,” the Court held that the properties held by the petitioner squarely fell within the statutory definition because they were properties held in the name of a Trust connected with and regulated by SGPC before the appointed date under the 1925 Act framework. The Court therefore concluded that the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee validly acquired supervisory authority over such properties under the 2014 Act.
Decision: The writ petition was dismissed. The Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the authority of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee over the petitioner Trust and held that the Trust’s assets constituted “Gurdwara property” under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014.