RADHESHYAM Vs. REGISTRAR PUBLIC TRUSTS NARSIMHPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this application under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, the petitioner, who is the Sarvarakar of a temple of Shri Deo Murlidharji, Baldeoji and Radhikaji, situated at Panari village. Gadarwara Tehsil, District Narsinghpur, which has been declared to be a public trust under the Madhya Pradesh Public Trusts Act, 1951, seeks a writ of certiorari for quashing the proceedings held by the Registrar of Public Trusts Narsinghpur, for auctioning the lease of certain property belonging to the trust and for quashing an order issued to him to have the accounts of the trust audited from the year 1953 up -to -date by a Chartered Accountant.

(2.) THE auction for leasing out some land belonging to the trust for a period of one year was held in 1964. The proceedings were, however, held up on account of the pendency of Miscellaneous Petition No. 192 of 1964 filed by the applicant challenging an order of the Registrar asking the Tehsildar to auction the land for one year and because of a stay -order made in that petition. That petition was, however, withdrawn by the applicant realising that as the agricultural year had already commenced there would be difficulty in leasing out the property, Thereafter the Registrar again resumed proceedings for auctioning the property and accepted certain bids. In those proceedings, the petitioner was asked to deposit Rs 4.400 if he wished to purchase the grass at the same price which was offered by the successful bidder of the auction. When the petitioner refused to do so contending that the auction held by the Registrar was void, the Registrar accepted the bids of other persons. But later on when the auction purchasers could not get possession of the land, the Registrar made a direction on 5th January 1965 asking the petitioner -Sarvarakar to deposit Rs. 4400 in the Bank. On 18th March 1965 the Registrar also made an order for audit of the trust -accounts from the year 1953 up -to -date by a Chartered Accountant.

(3.) IN regard to the audit of trust accounts the Registrar has no doubt under section 16 (4) of the Act the power to direct a special audit of the accounts of any public trust whenever, in his opinion such special audit is necessary. But this power can be exercised only for audit of the accounts from the time the trust is declared to be a public trust and not in regard to the accounts maintained before that point of time. This becomes clear by reading sections 15 and 16 together By section 15 (1) the working trustee or manager of a public trust is required to keep regular accounts of all movable and immovable property This duty of maintaining accounts can arise only after the trust is declared to be a public trust and a working trustee and manager is appointed Section 16 (1) speaks of the balances of accounts kept under section 15. The second sub -section of section 16 deals with the annual audit of the accounts maintained under section 15. The third sub -section says that every auditor acting under sub -section (2) shall have access to the accounts and to all books and other documents as are kept in the possession of the working trustee or manager. Then follows the provision, contained in sub -section (4), about special audit, which is as follows : -