NADIAD NAGARPALIKA NADIAD Vs. VITHALBHAI ZAVERBHAI PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a revision application by the Nadiad Municipality the defendant in the Special Civil Suit No. 208 of 1975 filed by the respondents original plaintiffs against the municipality in the court of the Civil Judge (S. D.) Nadiad. The suit is filed for recovery of possession of the suit land on the ground that the petitioner municipality has trespassed upon the land of the plaintiffs who are trustees of one registered public trust. The Municipality appeared in the suit and inter alia contended that the petitioner municipality had been put into possession of the suit land by the then Manager of the Public Trust for the purpose of making a public garden on the suit land and acting on that permissive possession the Municipality had put up a public garden for the use of the public after incurring heavy expenditure. The Municipality therefore contended that the suit for possession which was filed without the permission of the Charity Commissioner as required under sec. 50 of the Bombay Public Trust Act was still born and on that ground was liable to be dismissed. That particular preliminary contention taken up by the Municipality was negatived by the learned trial Judge and this has occasioned the present revision application.

(2.) The question that has been raised by the petitioner municipality and canvassed vigorously by Mr. M. C. Shah for that public authority is of considerable importance and therefore requires to b:- closely examined and neatly decided.

(3.) Sec. 50 of the Bombay Public Trusts Act as applicable to the State of Gujarat reads as follows:-