SHYAM SUNDAR KEJRIWAL Vs. USHA KEJRIWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The defendant challenges the authority of this court to receive the suit where the principal relief is for a perpetual injunction to restrain the defendant from holding herself out or representing herself to be a trustee of the subject trust. The defendant claims that the object of the suit is to take control of the trust and, through it, its only property in Madhupur in Jharkhand. The defendant says that this is a suit for land.

(2.) In her application, the defendant has contended that a trust is an obligation to property and since the property in respect of the subject trust is a land outside jurisdiction, this Court did not have the jurisdiction to receive the suit. The defendant argues that the plaintiffs seek, in effect, to assert title, control, possession and management of the immovable property situated outside jurisdiction and the claim has to be carried to a court exercising jurisdiction over such immovable property. No other ground is taken in the application. The first eight plaintiffs claim to be the present trustees of the ninth plaintiff trust. The trust was created by a registered deed of March 3, 1990. Though a copy of the relevant instrument has been appended to the plaint, the copy of the plaint that the defendant has included with her petition is one without its annexures. A copy of the deed of trust has been made over by the plaintiffs.

(3.) Nine settlors established the trust for public charitable purposes and contributed a sum of Rs.5,000/- in 1990. The deed envisages that the trust may receive further sums and properties. The initial office of the trust was at 9, Jagmohan Mullick Lane, Calcutta 700009 and the deed permits the trustees to determine where the office would be situate. The primary object of the trust is to create, establish, maintain and run educational institutions. Eight trustees were appointed by the deed of trust, including the defendant herein. The number of trustees is required to be not less than five or more than fifteen. The trustees are to appoint or nominate any of them as the chairperson and another as the managing trustee, each office having a tenure of five years. The deed named the defendant as the first managing trustee. Clause 32 of the trust deed provides that a trustee may resign from the office or retire by giving a months notice in writing to the other trustees. The next clause records that a person shall cease to be a trustee, inter alia, if he or she resigns from office. Clause 37 of the deed stipulates that the office of the trustee shall be without profit except to the extent of reimbursement of actual expenses incurred for the purposes and objects of the trust. Clause 43 of the deed makes the provisions of the Indian Trust Act applicable to the trust except to the extent it is repugnant to the contents of the deed.