An Act further to amend the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950.
Preamble.- WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 for the purposes hereinafter appearing;
BE it enacted in the Forty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions (Third Amendment) Act, 1990.
(2) The provisions of sections 2 and 3 shall be deemed to have come into force on the 4 th day of March, 1989 and the remaining provisions shall come into force at once and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
2. Amendment of section 2.- In section 2 of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 (XV of 1950) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
“ (aa) ‘Hindu’ means a person who is a Hindu by, birth or by conversion into Hindu religion or who professes the Hindu Religion- whether or not such person believes in God and temple worship:
Provided that a Hindu member to be nominated or elected to the Board under section 4 shall be a person who believes in God and temple worship and who shall make an oath before the Secretary of the Board to that effect in the form prescribed by the Government for the purpose before he enters upon his office”;
3. Amendment of section 6.- In section 6 of the principal Act, for the words “professes the Hindu religion” the words “is a Hindu” shall be substituted.
4. Amendment of section 8.- In sub-section (1) of section 8 of the principal Act, for the words “ceases to profess the Hindu Religion” the word “ceases to be a Hindu” shall be substituted.
5. Amendment of section 10.- Sub-section (3), of section 10 shall be omitted.
6. Insertion-of new section 13A.- After section 13 of the principal Act the following section shall be inserted, namely:-
“13A. Appointment of Chief Commissioner.- In the event of all the members of the Board, ceasing of hold office as such, the Government may, by notification in the gazette, appoint an officer not below the rank of a member of the Board of Revenue and who is a Hindu as the Chief Commissioner to exercise such powers and perform such duties of the Board as may be specified in the notification till the new members assume office.”
7. Amendment of section 29.- In sub-section (2) of section 29 of the principal Act, for the words, “person professing the Hindu religion” the word “Hindu” shall be substituted.
8. Validation.- Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgement, decree or order of any Court anything done or any action taken in connection with the nomination or election as a member of the Travancore Deveswom Board before the commencement of this Act shall not be invalid or shall not be deemed ever to have been invalid for any reason whatsoever and such nomination made or election conducted to the Travancore Deveswom Board before the commencement of this Act shall be valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid for all purposes as if the nomination was made and the election was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the principal Act as amended by this Act and no suit or other legal proceedings shall be maintained or continued in any Court challenging the validity of such nomination or election.
