HARISHCHANDRA AMARNATH PURI Vs. VIJAY KUMAR AMARNATH PURI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Facing the city's harbour to the east at Colaba, Curzon House is a stately ground and four-floor structure at the junction of Henry Road and Strand Road at Colaba. It stands roughly midway between the Taj Mahal Hotel at Apollo Bunder to the north and the Radio Club to the south. The leasehold plot on which the building stands is of about 1080 sq mts. It is owned by the Mumbai Port Trust. This is the estate in dispute in the Trust Petition and in the Petitioner's Chamber Summons.

(2.) Amarnath Bhimamal Puri was a cloth merchant in Bombay with, by all accounts, a successful business in the early years of the 20th century. He and his wife Lajwanti had one son, Harishchandra, the present Petitioner, born in 1944. Lajwanti died in April 1949 [1]. Amarnath remarried very soon after, in June 1949. In time, his second wife, Chanchal Rani, also known as Rashmi Rani, bore him five sons, more or less at two-year intervals: Vijaykumar (born 1950), Dilipkumar (born 1952), Dinesh (or Devendrakumar, born 1954), Pravinkumar (born 1957) and Sunilkumar (born 1960). These five are, therefore, Harishchandra's step-brothers. Dilipkumar died in 2017. He was survived by his widow and two children. Vijaykumar and Dinesh/Devendrakumar are Respondents Nos. 1 and 2 to the Petition. Dilipkumar's three heirs are Respondents Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Pravinkumar and Sunilkumar were, until 24th July 2017 when they were deleted from the array of parties, Respondents Nos. 6 and 7.

(3.) In 1956, Amarnath formed a private trust called the Bhimamal Amarnath Puri Trust. The trust was to provide for Amarnath's sons Harishchandra, Vijaykumar, Dinesh and Dilipkumar, then all minors. Amarnath settled Rs.71,000 on trust. Chanchal Rani was appointed a trustee. She was to pay the net income after expenses to the guardian of the four minor sons twice a year during their lifetime. Each son got an equal share in this income. She was herself appointed their guardian. On the death of any of the sons, his share was to descend to his heirs; and if he had no lineal descendants, was to be added to the shares of the surviving brothers. The Indenture of Trust contemplated the purchase or acquisition of immovable property, and allowed the Trustees to sell any such immovable property. Clause 8 said that there would be a maximum of eight trustees, the majority of whom were always to be members of Amarnath's family, his relatives. On attaining majority, the four sons would act (the clause says'shall act') and be eligible for appointment as trustees; and, moreover, on attaining majority, would be 'deemed to be' trustees. Chanchal Rani had the right to appoint additional trustees. Pravinkumar and Sunilkumar were not born at the time. They find no mention in the Trust Deed.