After 56 years, Jharkhand HC ends one of State’s oldest Church Trust disputes
SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA Ranchi, July 23: In a landmark judgment bringing an end to one of Jharkhand’s oldest pending civil disputes, the…
SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, July 23: In a landmark judgment bringing an end to one of Jharkhand’s oldest pending civil disputes, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday disposed of a 56-year-old legal battle over the administration and ownership of the historic Santal Mission of Northern Churches (SMNC), dismissing two Letters Patent Appeals that had remained pending since 1992.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar upheld the common judgment delivered by the then Patna High Court on June 30, 1992, thereby settling litigation that originated from two title suits instituted in 1971 but whose roots date back to the creation of the Santal Mission Trust in 1880. The judgment was pronounced on July 23 after marathon hearings spread over four days this month.
High Court’s drive to clear oldest cases
Noting the extraordinary delay, the Division Bench observed that the appeals had been listed before several Benches over the decades but arguments had remained inconclusive. As part of the High Court’s initiative to dispose of long-pending matters, the Bench heard the appeals on July 7, 8, 13 and 14 before reserving its verdict.
Dispute centred on century-old mission trust
The litigation revolved around the Santal Mission of Northern Churches (SMNC), founded in 1880 by Norwegian missionaries Rev. Hans Peter Doerresen and Rev. Laurentius Olaves Skrefsrud for education and missionary work among the Santhal community.
The controversy arose after an Instrument of Transfer dated February 10, 1968, through which the Trust Association of the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) was inducted into the trust structure. One group of beneficiaries challenged the legality of the arrangement, alleging that trust properties had been unlawfully transferred, while NELC sought judicial recognition of its authority to administer mission properties.
Why the appeals failed
The High Court upheld the findings of the first appellate court on every major legal issue.
It ruled that although the suit under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure had been validly instituted, the plaintiffs had failed to establish any breach of trust warranting either removal of trustees or framing of a fresh management scheme. Once those principal reliefs failed, the court held, there was no basis to invalidate the 1968 Instrument of Transfer.
The Division Bench further held that the challenge to the 1968 instrument was barred by limitation, observing that the declaration had been sought beyond the statutory period prescribed under the Limitation Act.
Another reason for rejecting the challenge was the non-impleadment of NELC Pvt. Ltd., whose legal rights would have been directly affected by any declaration against the transfer. The Bench held that the company was a necessary party and the defect was fatal to the plaintiffs’ case.
No error in Patna High Court verdict
Rejecting all grounds raised by the appellants, the Division Bench found no legal infirmity in the 1992 judgment of the then Patna High Court, which had restored the validity of the 1968 instrument and affirmed the decree passed in favour of NELC in the connected title suit.
The court also rejected arguments that the appellate court had travelled beyond the pleadings or misinterpreted the nature of the 1968 instrument, holding that the controversy had always centred on its legal effect and had been fully contested by both sides.
Litigation spanning more than a century of history
The case is remarkable not only for its 56-year pendency but also because it involved events stretching back nearly 146 years, including the establishment of the mission in 1880, trust arrangements executed over subsequent decades, the disputed 1968 restructuring, civil suits filed in 1971, trial court judgments in 1985 and 1986, a common appellate judgment in 1992, and finally the Division Bench verdict of the Jharkhand High Court in 2026.
With the dismissal of LPA No. 79 of 1992 and LPA No. 80 of 1992, the High Court finally drew the curtain on one of the longest-running church trust disputes in eastern India.
