SHRI SATISH VASANT SALPEKAR Vs. ASHWIN GHATATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard learned counsels appearing for the parties finally.

(2.) In all these petitions, the order dated 04.03.2017 passed by the learned Assistant Charity Commissioner, Nagpur, in different change reports, rejecting the applications filed by the petitioners under Sec. 73A of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, for being joined as intervenor, is under challenge. It has been held relying upon the decision of this Court in Chetan Mehta Vs. State of Maharashtra and others, reported in 2008 (6) All MR 189, that the intervenors have not demonstrated as to how their impleadment would assist the authority in determining the present change report. It further holds that merely because the intervenors are the trustees as on the date, it would be of no use to assist the enquiry on the change reports which were filed long back.

(3.) The learned counsels appearing for the petitioners in all these petitions, supported by Shri U.A. Gosawi, the learned counsel appearing for respondent No.1, urged that all the petitioners in the petitions were appointed as trustees of the trust in question by an order dated 19.05.2016 passed by the learned Joint Charity Commissioner at Mumbai, in exercise of his powers under Sec. 47 r/w Sec. 41A of the said Act. It is not in dispute that all the change reports except one, to which the petitioners are the parties, were filed prior to 2012. It is urged that the petitioners are covered by the definition of "persons having interest" in Sec. 2(1)(e) of the said Act read with Sec. 2(18) and therefore, the application for intervention should have been allowed by the learned Assistant Charity Commissioner. The reliance is also placed upon the common decision of this Court in the case of Mr. Harshal Uddhav Aarvikar Vs. Shri Jagjeet Singh Gurusharan Singh and another, along with connected matters, decided on 07.04.2017. He urged that the provisions of Sec. 73A of the said Act is wide enough to include even the persons who were not the members of the trust on the date of filing of the change report.