Re: Brisbane Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) Inc. & Ors.

The matter before the Supreme Court of Queensland involved the Brisbane Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) Inc., along with Raghbir Singh, Nirmal Singh Sandhu, and Murkhtiar Singh, challenging the appointment of Mr. Starkey as the administrator of the Temple. The dispute arose from a conflict among the members of the Temple, leading to Williams J's appointment of Mr. Starkey by consent on 8 August 1997. The primary function of Mr. Starkey, as appointed, was to administer the Temple's financial affairs. However, the applicants later argued for Mr. Starkey's removal due to an apprehension of bias, alleging that he had undisclosed professional relationships with some of the Temple's members.

The court needed to determine the legitimacy of Mr. Starkey's appointment, the basis of the court's jurisdiction to appoint an administrator, and whether there was sufficient evidence to justify removing Mr. Starkey from his position. It also needed to consider the procedural fairness in the context of the appointment and the limited scope of Mr. Starkey's duties.

The court found that there was ample power under the Rules of the Supreme Court to appoint Mr. Starkey as the administrator. The court dismissed the apprehension of bias argument, noting the limited scope of Mr. Starkey's duties and the lack of evidence of actual impropriety. While acknowledging the need for a mechanism to ensure that elections for the Temple's office bearers could be held fairly and without further disputes, the court did not find grounds to remove Mr. Starkey from his role. The application to remove Mr. Starkey was dismissed, with costs awarded to be taxed.