SUGRABI Vs. ASSISTANT CHARITY COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition, the petitioners have challenged orders passed by the Assistant Charity Commissioner on 13/01/2017, in two applications moved on behalf of the petitioners in change report inquiry Nos.1624/2014 and 1792/2014. These applications were moved by the petitioners under Section 73-A of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, claiming to be persons having interest and thus having right to be heard in the said change reports.

(2.) The brief facts relevant for deciding the present writ petition are that since the year 1995 there are change reports filed by rival parties before the Assistant Charity Commissioner. It is claimed by the rival parties that elections took place and that the office bearers were elected as per their respective claims. There were three change reports filed by the rival parties which remained pending for a long period of time. The said change reports were rejected by the Assistant Charity Commissioner by separate orders of the same date i.e. 22/05/2014. The petitioners challenged rejection of their change reports by filing appeals before the Joint Charity Commissioner. It was during pendency of the said appeals that the aforesaid change report inquiry Nos. 1624/2014 and 1792/2014 were filed by the respondent No.2 claiming change in the address of the office of the Society/Trust and also claiming that fresh election had taken place in pursuance of which office bearers had been elected. It is in these change reports that the petitioners filed the aforesaid applications under Section 73-A of the aforesaid Act. It was claimed by the petitioners and that they were persons interested as defined under the provisions of the said Act and that therefore, they had a right to be heard and to raise objections. This was resisted by the respondent No.2.

(3.) By the impugned orders, the Assistant Charity Commissioner rejected the applications filed by the petitioners, holding that in view of rejection of the earlier change reports and since there was no interim order in the appeal pending before the Joint Charity Commissioner, the petitioners could not be said to be persons interested. In these orders, the Assistant Charity Commissioner specifically observed that the orders were subject to the order that might be passed in the pending appeal before the Joint Charity Commissioner.