CHHOTALAL LALLUBHAI SHAH Vs. CHARITY COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal filed against the order passed by the District Judge, Broach, under Section 56 of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950; in Miscellaneous Application No. 8 of 1955 of his file. One Jhaverchand Dahyabhai Shah, who will hereafter be referred to as the testator died in 1916 having made and executed on August 6, 19.15, a will disposing of his considerable property. The testator belonged to the Ladva Shrimali Shravak Bania community and professed the Jain religion. By his will the testator appointed his brother's daughter Bai Jekore and one Ratanchand Savaichand as trustees to administer the estate. By Clause 6 of his will he directed that his business in grocery should be wound up after his death and the trustees should conduct a money -lending business. He then directed that the shop should be continued till the death ofhis niece Bai Jekore. By Clause 7 the testator provided certain specific bequests. Those bequests were as follows : - (1) Rs. 100/ -to Broach Panjrapole. (2) Rs. 100/ -to kindness to all forms of life. (3) Rs. 25/ -for providing flowers in the temple of Rikhab Dev at Vejalpore in Broach. (4) Rs. 200/ -for providing food to Shravak pilgrims at Palitana. (5) Rs. 50/ -for providing food to pilgrims on Mangirna. - - - - (6) Rs. 50/ -for providing food to pilgrims on Mount Abu. (7) Rs. 250/ -for providing food and clothes to Shravaks and Shravikas. (8) Rs. 100/ -for providing clothes to the Sadhus and Sadhvis of Jains. (9) Rs. 200/ -for providing food and education to orphan children of Hindu community. (10) Rs. 200/ -for spreading education among Jains. (11) Rs. 100/ -for providing food to those Shravaks and Shravikas who have observed fast. (12) Rs. 300/ -for providing food and clothes amongst the blind and lame of HinduCommunity. After providing these twelve specific bequests the testator directed: - Every year during 'Pachusans' a caste dinner in the following seven villages by way of Swami Vatsal should be given and the dinner should be of sweet balls made of sugar and Methi dal: Broach, Ankleshwar, Surat, Rander, Amod, Lervada, Buva, Kola -vana, Achod, Bahaj, Sachan, Rani Kankadia, Ochan, Dahej and Gandhar. By Clause 15 of his will he directed that on the death of Bai Jekore the money -lending business should be wound up and the trustees should set apart Rs. 75,000 out of the assets of the business and hand over the balance to Bai Cbanchal. He then directed that out of the amount of Rs. 75,000 certain specified amounts should be given to institutions named therein for 'dharmik' purposes mentioned in Clause 7.

(2.) AFTER the death of the testator the trustees entered upon management of his estate. Bai Jekore died on May 30, 1928. It appears that Ratanchand, the other trustee, had predeceased Bai Jekore. The estate of the testator then went into the management of Bai Chanchal, daughter of Bai Jekore, and she set apart Rs. 67,000 presumably in pursuance of Clause 15 of the will. It appears that Es. 8,000 were invested in Government loans and handed over to various institutions to carry out the purposes mentioned in (2), (4), (5) and (6) of Clause 7, and Bai Chanchal made a trust -deed of the balance of Rs. 67,000 and appointed trustees to administer the trust. The trust was registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. One of the important items for which expenditure was required to be incurred annually under the directions contained in the will of the testator, was a 'caste dinner' to be given to the members of the community of the testator. But, in the year 1944, when the rules framed under the Defence of India Act which imposed severe restrictions as to the number of persons to be fed on a single occasion came into operation, the 'caste dinner' could not be given. It is undisputed that till 1954 those rules remained in operation and the income which could have been utilised annually for giving 'caste dinner' remained unexpended in the hands of the trustees. After the trust was registered the Charity Commissioner called upon the trustees to seek directions of the District Court for utilising the unexpended balance, but the trustees declined to carry out the requisition. The Charity Commissioner then filed an application under Section 55(2) of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, in the Court of the District Judge, Broach, praying that directions be issued to the trustees to expend the accumulated income for some public charitable purposes. It may be noted that the application filed by the Charity Commissioner related only to the unexpended balance and the Charity Commissioner did not ask for any directous relating to the income to be received in future from the trust estate.

(3.) AGAINST these orders an appeal has been filed by six of the members of the community of the testator and it is urged on behalf of the appellants that the District Court was incompetent to entertain the application, that in any event the object of the trust had not failed and the Court was in error in directing that the accumulated and unexpended income be utilised for 'general educational and medical purposes'.