MAHAMMAD HUSSAIN DABAHAYATSAB MULLA Vs. CHARITY COMMISSIONER BELGAUM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) two questions fall for consideration in this writ petition. These are: (i) whether the charity commissioner can in exercise of his powers under Section 36 of the Bombay public trusts act grant permission to sell the trust property subject to a condition as to the minimum price at which the sale should be effected? And (ii) if the power is so available has the same been exercised properly in the context of the facts of the present case.

(2.) the questions arise in the following backdrop:guru viraktha mutt rayanal is a registered public trust which owns certain properties in hubli town of the district of dharwad. The peetadikari of the trust appears to have filed an application before the charity commissioner at belgaum under Section 36 of the Bombay public trusts act seeking his permission to sell the property underlying c.t.s. nos. 1531 to 1534. This application was allowed by the charity commissioner by his order dated 30-10-1982 subject inter alia to the condition that the property was sold in a public auction, and that the market value fixed by the special deputy commissioner, dharwad was kept in view while conducting any such auction. Certain other conditions were also stipulated, which are not immediately relevant for the disposal of this petition.

(3.) aggrieved by the aforesaid order the intending purchasers filed writ petition No. 19618 of 1985 in this court, which was allowed with a direction to the charity commissioner to consider the agreements to sell executed between the trustee and the petitioners and pass appropriate orders afresh on the application seeking sanction. Consequently, the charity commissioner once again considered the question of granting the sanction to the proposed transfer and has by his order dated 15-4-1987 impugned in this writ petition permitted the plots of land mentioned earlier to be sold subject to certain conditions stipulated therein one of which is that the plots should be sold at a price not less than Rs. 25,000/- per gunta and the sale transaction be completed within 6 months from the date of order. Out of the four prospective purchasers for the sites in question three appear to have agreed to pay the minimum consideration fixed by the charity commissioner while the 4th did not do so. Petitioners before me in the present writ petition are the l.rs. Of the 4th purchaser who have called in question the order passed by the charity commissioner primarily on the ground that he had no jurisdiction or authority to fix the minimum sale price while granting sanction for transfer of the trust property under Section 36 of the act aforementioned in particular keeping in view the fact that the trustees had agreed to sell the property in terms of the agreement to sell executed between the parties at the rate of Rs. 8,100/- per gunta.