In Brief
Followers of the Dam Dama Sahib religious shrine filed a suit claiming land was dedicated to their shrine, though nominally held by a descendant of Baba Sahib Singh. The land was declared surplus under the Punjab Land Reforms Act. The High Court dismissed the suit, holding that Civil Courts lacked jurisdiction under Section 21 of the Act. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that Section 21 bars jurisdiction only for suits challenging the validity of surplus orders or seeking specific performance of land transfer contracts—not for declarations of ownership. The issue of jurisdiction should have been raised earlier, not for the first time before the High Court.
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