The Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation has exclusive authority to manage Auroville and issue Standing Orders, and suppression of material facts by a litigant disqualifies them from obtaining relief.

JUDGMENT :

BELA M. TRIVEDI, J.

1. The legality and validity of the Judgment and Order dated 15.03.2024 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Writ Petition No. 25882 of 2022, allowing the said Writ Petition filed by the Respondent- Natasha Storey and setting aside the impugned Notification dated 01.06.2022 containing the Standing Order No. 01/2022 issued by the Appellant – Foundation, is under challenge before this Court by way of instant appeal.

2. Before adverting to issues involved in the Appeal, it would be apposite to peep into the history of Auroville, and the objects and reasons of enacting the Auroville Foundation Act (hereinafter referred to as the “A.F. Act”).

3. Prelude on the History of Auroville: -

(I) In 1965, the “Mother” (Mirra Alfassa, a French Lady), a spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo (a Spiritual reformer, Philosopher and Educationist), envisioned to launch the project of Auroville, with an aim to establish an international universal township, where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities and to realise human unity. The project of Auroville was formerly inaugurated by the “Mother” in 28.02.1968. The Charter of Auroville given by the “Mother” was the following:

“1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.

2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress and a youth that never ages.

3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.

4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.”

(II) The original Master Plan of the Auroville was conceptualized in Galaxy shape, and was planned to eventually accommodate 50,000 residents, a number which the “Mother” considered sufficient to allow the experiment in human unity to take on a meaningful and significant dimension. Picture of Galaxy Model Plan conceptualized in 1968 is shown below:

(III) The project Auroville was legally started as the project of a charitable organization, “The Sri Aurobindo Society” in Pondicherry, which was created to diffuse Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts. The development of Auroville in the initial few years showed good progress and it further developed at a rapid pace. Number of Indians and foreigners settled down in Auroville and devoted themselves to various activities showing a remarkable harmony amongst the members of Auroville, which gave a promise to the Government of India of an early fulfilment of the ideals for which Auroville was established. It was also encouraged by UNESCO and other International Organizations of the world. However, after the “Mother” passed away in 1973, the situation changed, and number of complaints came to be received by the Government of India with regard to the mismanagement in the working of the Sri Aurobindo Society. Following the requests by majority of Auroville residents, the Government of India issued a Presidential Ordinance called the Auroville (Emergency Provisions) Ordinance, 1980, later replaced by the Auroville (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1980. Finally, the Government of India created a unique status for Auroville by passing the A.F. Act.

4. The Provisions of A.F. Act: -

(I) The long title of the said A.F. Act of 1988 enacted by the Parliament on 29.09.1988 reads as under:

“THE AUROVILLE FOUNDATION ACT,

1988

ACT NO. 54 OF 1988

[29th September, 1988]

An Act to provide for the acquisition and transfer of the undertakings of Auroville and to vest such undertakings in a foundation established for the purpose with a view to making long-term arrangements for the better management and further development of Auroville in accordance with its original charter and