ADI BURJOR BANAJI Vs. BAKHTAWAR MANEKSHA JIJINA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Judgment shall dispose of Suit No. 236 of 2014 filed before this Court ('the High Court Suit'), as well as S.C. Suit No.2546 of 2011 which was originally filed before the Bombay City Civil Court at Bombay ('the City Civil Court Suit'). The Plaintiffs in the High Court Suit had filed Notice of Motion No. 428 of 2014 seeking interim reliefs during the pendency of the High Court Suit. During the hearing of that Notice of Motion, both sides had consented to both the High Court Suit and the City Civil Court Suit being tried and heard together. Accordingly, by my order dtd. 15/4/2014 passed in Notice of Motion No. 428 of 2014 in the High Court Suit, the Office of this Court was directed to call for the record and proceedings in the City Civil Court Suit to this Court. Pursuant thereto, the record and proceedings in the City Civil Court Suit was transferred to this Court, and both Suits have thereafter been tried and heard together.

(2.) The Plaintiffs in the High Court Suit are the Trustees of the Banaji Limji Agiary Trust ('the Trust'), which is a public charitable trust registered under the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. The Defendant in the High Court Suit is Ms. Bakhtawar Maneksha Jijina. Ms. Jijina is the Plaintiff in the City Civil Court Suit. Plaintiff Nos. 1 and 2 in the High Court Suit have been arrayed as Defendant Nos. 1A and 2A in the City Civil Court Suit. For the sake of convenience, the parties shall hereinafter be referred to as they have been arrayed in the High Court Suit, i.e. the Trustees of the Trust shall be referred to as the Plaintiffs, and Ms. Bakhtawar Maneksha Jijina shall be referred to as the Defendant, irrespective of whether they are being referred to in the context of the High Court Suit or the City Civil Court Suit.

(3.) The case of the Plaintiffs in the High Court Suit is briefly set out as follows :