Shri Balaji Devasthan Regd Trust, ... vs Joint Charity Commissioner, ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 2140 Bom

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           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                     NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR

                       WRIT PETITION NO.2660 OF 2018

       Shri Balaji Devasthan Regd Trust,
       Regn No.A-54, Amravati through
       its trustee Dharmendra Radheshyamji
       Loya, aged 52 years, resident of
       Talegaon (Dashashar), Tashil Dhamangaon
       (Rly), District Amravati.
                                                                      ...PETITIONER

                               ...V E R S U S...

      Joint Charity Commissioner,
      Amravati Region, Amravati.                                    ...RESPONDENT
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Shri J.J. Chandurkar, Advocate for petitioner.
 Shri A.M. Kadukar, A.G.P. for respondent.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                CORAM:- V. M. DESHPANDE, J.

DATED :- 2nd FEBRUARY, 2021.

ORAL JUDGMENT

Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally

by consent of the parties.

(2) Heard Shri J.J. Chandurkar, learned counsel for the

petitioner and Shri A.M. Kadukar, learned Assistant Government

Pleader for the sole respondent.

(3) By filing this writ petition the petitioner is challenging

the judgment and order passed by the respondent No.1-Joint

Charity Commissioner, Amravati dated 15.12.2017 in Application

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No.30 of 2014 whereby the Joint Charity Commissioner rejected

the application filed on behalf of the petitioner under Section

36(1)(a) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act.

(4) The petitioner is Shri Balaji Devasthan Trust and it is a

registered public trust having registration No.A-54 of Amravati.

The petitioner-Trust own various lands including Gat No.73 area

11 Hector 63 Are and land Gat No.85 area 8 Hector 65 Are at

Kotha (Fattepur), Taluka Babhulgaon, District Yavatmal. Since

lands are situated at a far place and it was inconvenient for the

trust to cultivate the same and in order to rule out the possibility

of encroachment, the trust on 02.02.2014 passed a resolution

giving authorization to one Dharmendra Radheshyamji Loya, one

of the trustees, to approach before the Joint Charity Commissioner

for obtaining the permission for disposing of the trust property.

(5) Accordingly, Application No.30 of 2014 was moved. The

impugned order shows that after filing of the application, a public

notice was issued in two daily newspapers as well as affixing the

same on temple premises and on the notice board of Gram

Panchayat. Inspection Report of Public Trust Registration Office,

Amravati was also called. The impugned order shows that inspite

of the public notice, nobody raised objection to the application.

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 (6)            The impugned order shows that since the applicant and

his counsel did not remain present before the Joint Charity

Commissioner, the Joint Charity Commissioner dismissed the

application.

(7) The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that

the authority ought not to have dismissed the application on its

own merit and ought to have dismissed in default.

(8) Perusal of the impugned order shows that the Joint

Charity Commissioner has decided the application on its own

merit.

(9) The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that

during the course of hearing though it is not stated in the writ

petition that due to unavoidable circumstances the counsel for the

petitioner and the petitioner could not attend the proceedings.

(10) Since the property is belonging to the trust and

intention to dispose of the property was not objected by anybody,

in my view, an opportunity should be given to the petitioner-Trust

to submit its case before the Joint Charity Commissioner afresh. In

that view of the matter, the writ petition is allowed. The judgment

and order dated 15.12.2017 passed by the Joint Charity

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Commissioner, Region Amravati, Amravati in Application No.30 of

2014 is hereby quashed and set aside.The Application No.30 of

2014 filed by the petitioner-Trust under Section 36(1)(a) of the

Maharashtra Public Trusts Act stands restored and the matter is

remanded back to the Joint Charity Commissioner, Amravati

Region, Amravati.

(11) The petitioner is directed to appear before the Joint

Charity Commissioner, Amravati on 15.02.2021. The Joint Charity

Commissioner is directed to decide the Application No.30 of 2014

afresh by giving opportunity of hearing within a period of two

months from 15.02.2021.

Rule is made absolute in above terms. No order as to costs.

JUDGE Wagh