Shri Suresh Hiralal Shah Vs. Shree Mahavir Swami Digambar JaIn Mandir Trust - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
bombay public trusts act, 1950 - section 73 - enquiry proceedings - application by a person interested in the public trust to join him as a party - maintainable.; a person having interest in the public trust is entitled to apply for joining him as a party to the enquiry proceedings. he need not be a person incoming or outgoing trustee in the change report. - - the petitioner in para 2 of the application clearly asserted that the petitioner has already raised objection by filing caveat to the alleged change report and the petitioner was shown as opponent in the change report no. ' 5. having regard to the materials on record i have no hesitation to hold that the petitioner was clearly a person having interest in the public trust in question and therefore it was imperative to join him as party to the said proceedings on his application preferred before the deputy charity commissioner.a. m. khanwilkar, j.1. rule. rule made returnable forthwith by consent.2. all these writ petitions are against the order passed by the deputy charity commissioner. pune division, pune rejecting the petitioner's application for being impleaded in the proceedings pending before him in respect of shree mahavir swami digambar jain mandir trust under section 22 of the public trusts act. the petitioner herein had preferred an application purported to be under section 73a of the bombay public trusts act praying for impleading him as opponent in the proceedings of the change report filed by the alleged trustees. the petitioner categorically stated in the said application that the petitioner was interested in the affairs of the trust. the petitioner in para 2 of the application clearly asserted that the petitioner has already raised objection by filing caveat to the alleged change report and the petitioner was shown as opponent in the change report no. 507 of 1998, 508 of 1998 and 509of 1998 and that notices were also issued to the petitioner inviting his objection. besides this, it is also mentioned in the application that the petitioner has given donations to the temple and was resident of village where the temple was located. the petitioner also asserted that he had keen interest in the affairs of the society and having noticed that some influential persons were interfering with the administration of the trust. made an application under section 41eof the act against those persons. having given all the details, the petitioner prayed that he should be impleaded as opponent in the proceedings relating to the change report. the said application was opposed by the respondent. the deputy charity commissioner rejected all the three applications preferred by the petitioner mainly on the ground that the petitioner was neither incoming nor outgoing trustee in the change reports and was not an aggrieved partyor necessary party. orders passed on these three applications are the subject matter of the present writ petition.3. the learned counsel of the petitioner rightly relies on section 73a of the bombay public trusts act to contend that the petitioner had made out a clear ground in his applications to indicate that he was a person having interest in the public trust and it was a sufficient reason to allow the applications for impleadmenl. he rightly criticized the judgment of the deputy charily commissioner which takes the view that only person who is incoming or outgoing trustee in the change report shall be aggrieved and necessary party to the proceedings.4. to appreciate the rival stand it would be apposite to reproduce section 73a of the act, which reads thus :-'section 73a. power of inquiry officer to join persons as party to proceedings:in any proceedings under this act, person having interest in the public trust may be joined as a party to such proceedings on an application made by such person on such terms and conditions as the officer holding the inquiry may order.'5. having regard to the materials on record i have no hesitation to hold that the petitioner was clearly a person having interest in the public trust in question and therefore it was imperative to join him as party to the said proceedings on his application preferred before the deputy charity commissioner.6. in my view, the reason indicated by the deputy charity commissioner that the petitioner neither being an incoming or outgoing trustee was not an aggrieved party; and therefore could not be impleaded as opponent, is totally against the language of section 73a of the act. such a view cannot be countenanced. the impugned order, therefore, deserves to be set aside. instead it is directed that the petitioner is impleaded as opponent in the proceedings pending before the deputy charity commissioner.7. since the change reports have been filed in 1998, the deputy charity commissioner is directed to expeditiously dispose of the same preferably within 3 months from the receipt of writ of this court.8. writ petitions succeed. petitions disposed of in the above terms. no order as to costs.9. parties to act on the copy of this order duly authenticated by sheristedar of this court.