AIR 1984 SUPREME COURT 51 ::1984 CriAppR(SC) 185 ::1984 SCC(Cri) 1 ::1983 (4) SCC 522 ::1984 (1) RecCriR 228 ::(1984) 1 Crimes 318

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): P. N. Bhagwati, Amarendra Nath Sen, Ranganath Misra , JJJ

(A) Constitution of India , Art.25, Art.26— Protection under - Performance of Tandava dance by Anand Margis in procession or at public places - Is not an essential religious rite to be performed by every Anand Margi - Claim to its performance by petitioner as fundamental right within meaning of Arts. 25, 26, rejected. Ananda Marga satisfies all the three conditions, envisaged by the Art. 26 viz., it is a collection of individuals who have a system of beliefs which they regard as conducive to their spiritual well being : they have a common organisation and the collection of these individuals has a distinctive name. Ananda Marga, therefore, can be appropriately treated as a religious denomination within the Hindu religion. Thus, where the Tandava dance was not accepted as an essential rite of Anand Margis when in 1955 the Ananda Marga order was first established, performance of the tandava dance in a procession or at public places by them cannot be considered as an essential religious rite of the Ananda Margis when it was the specific case of the petitioner an Ananda Margi that the founder of the organisation introduced tandava as a part of religious rites of Ananda Margis later in 1966 i.e. subsequent to its constitution in 1955. Even conceding that tandava dance has been prescribed as a religious rite for every follower of the Ananda Marg it does not foll....