Gujarat High Court
Mahantswami Narayanprasaddasji Guru ... vs Pravinbhai Muljibhai on 9 July, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/FA/472/1991 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2025
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 472 of 1991
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK
=======================================
Approved for Reporting Yes No
-- No
=======================================
MAHANTSWAMI NARAYANPRASADDASJI GURU SHASTRI
KESHAVJIVANDASJI & ORS.
Versus
PRAVINBHAI MULJIBHAI & ORS.
=======================================
Appearance:
MR KV SHELAT(834) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5,6
DECEASED LITIGANT THROUGH LEGAL HEIRS/
REPRESTENTATIVES for the Defendant(s) No. 2,3,4
MS ROSHNI PATEL AGP for the Defendant(s) No. 5,6,7,8
MR Y J PATEL(3985) for the Defendant(s) No. 1
RULE SERVED for the Defendant(s) No. 4.1
SERVED BY RPAD (N) for the Defendant(s) No. 2.1,3.1
=======================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT M.
PRACHCHHAK
Date : 09/07/2025
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. Present appeal under Section 72 of the Bombay (now Gujarat) Public Trust Act (hereinafter be referred to as "the Act") against the judgment and order dated 21.04.1990 passed by the Page 1 of 4 Uploaded by V.R. PANCHAL(HC00171) on Wed Jul 09 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 09 22:29:28 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/472/1991 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2025 undefined learned Joint District Judge, Surendranagar (hereinafter be referred to as "the trial Court") in Civil Misc. Application No. 96 of 1988 whereby the trial Court partly allowed the application and set aside the direction issued by the learned Joint Charity Commissioner to the learned Deputy Charity Commissioner.
2. Brief facts of the case are that the said Shri Swaminarayan temple got registered at Surendranagar under the Act in the year 1963 and the entries including the object and mode of succession were entered in the public trust register. The respondents filed application in August 1976 for framing the scheme for administration and management of trust and challenged the entries which were not properly made and the same are required to be modified saying that the object of the trust is not properly mentioned and mode of trusteeship is also to be modified. It is the case of the appellants that after 13 years, respondents No.1 and 2 belong to the different jurisdiction submitted an application under Section 50 of the Act for changing the object of the trust, which came to be dismissed by the learned Joint Charity Commissioner. The respondents filed application under Section 70 of the Act challenging the order/s passed in Inquiry Case No. 6680 of 1961 (Revision Application No.22 of 1984) and the Joint Charity Commissioner, Rajkot revised the order and remanded the matter to the Assistant Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar. That during the pendency of the application filed under Section 70 of the Act, the respondents filed an application under Section 22 of the Act before the Assistant Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar. It is the case of the appellants that the appellants challenged the order dated 27.01.1988 by filing Civil Misc. Application No. 96 of 1988 before Page 2 of 4 Uploaded by V.R. PANCHAL(HC00171) on Wed Jul 09 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 09 22:29:28 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/472/1991 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2025 undefined the District Court, Surendranagar, which came to be allowed and set aside the order passed by the Joint Charity Commissioner, Rajkot.
3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order, the appellants have preferred the present appeal.
4. Heard learned counsel appearing for the respective parties and perused the material on record.
5. Learned counsel for the appellant has relied upon the decision of this Court in the case of A. C. Joshi, City Deputy Collector, Ahmedabad Vs. Shukla Ramanujacharya reported in 1976 GLR 529. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the order of inquiry is to be made to take inquiry under Section 22 of the Act by the Deputy Charity Commissioner and inquiry is to be conducted by the Deputy Charity Commissioner after giving full opportunity and considering the contention and the same is decided as expeditiously as possible.
6. Since the dispute was relating to implication as trustees in the trust, which was arisen between two groups, therefore, the matter was filed before the Assistant Charity Commissioner.
7. It appears that after considering the submissions of both the sides and the provision of law, learned Joint District Judge, Surendranagar passed the judgment and order dated 21.04.1990 in Civil Misc. Application No. 96 of 1988, which is impugned in Page 3 of 4 Uploaded by V.R. PANCHAL(HC00171) on Wed Jul 09 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 09 22:29:28 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/FA/472/1991 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/07/2025 undefined the present appeal.
8. In view of the above, without entering into merits of the matter, the appeal is disposed of accordingly. The Deputy / Assistant Charity Commissioner is directed to conduct inquiry filed under Section 22 of the Act after hearing and giving full opportunity to the parties and decide the same in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible without being influence by the earlier order passed by the learned Joint District Judge, Surendranagar in Civil Misc. Application No. 96 of 1988.
9. Registry is directed to transmit back the record and proceedings of the case to the concerned Court forthwith. Direct service is permitted.
(HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK,J) V.R. PANCHAL Page 4 of 4 Uploaded by V.R. PANCHAL(HC00171) on Wed Jul 09 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 09 22:29:28 IST 2025