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1960 Supreme(Bom) 84

H.R.GOKHALE
Servants of India Society – Appellant
Versus
Charity Commissioner of Bombay – Respondent


Judgement Key Points

Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:

  1. The Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, applies to societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, even if their objects are not confined to a single state. The Act is intended to regulate the administration of public religious and charitable trusts and societies formed for religious or charitable purposes (!) (!) .

  2. Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act are considered unincorporated societies, not corporations or quasi-corporations. They have a legal personality separate from their members, with perpetual succession and capacity to sue and be sued in their own name, but they do not possess the attributes of a corporation created by statute (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  3. The definition of 'public trust' in the Act explicitly includes societies formed for religious or charitable purposes and registered under the Societies Registration Act, reinforcing the applicability of the Act to such societies (!) .

  4. The legislative competence of the State Legislature to enact the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, is affirmed. The Act falls within the scope of entries related to trusts and charities in the Concurrent List, and it does not infringe upon the Union List entry concerning corporations with objects not confined to one state, as the societies are unincorporated and fall under the State List (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  5. The argument that societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, being quasi-corporations or corporations, are exclusively within the domain of Parliament under the Union List is not supported, as the societies are unincorporated entities and the Act’s provisions are within the powers of the State Legislature (!) (!) .

  6. The interpretation of legislative entries should be broad and liberal, allowing for a harmonious understanding of the powers conferred on both the Union and State Legislatures, avoiding conflict and ensuring effective regulation of societies and trusts (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

  7. The legislation's validity is not challenged on the basis of its extraterritorial effects or its impact on properties outside the state, and such questions are outside the scope of this case (!) .

  8. The society in question has applied for exemption from the provisions of the Act, but this application is pending and will be considered separately; the current judgment does not prejudge that process (!) .

  9. Ultimately, the court held that the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, is applicable to the society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, even if its objects extend beyond a single state, and the appeal was dismissed accordingly (!) .


JUDGMENT - Gokhale, J.

(1) This appeal raises the question whether the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, applies to a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and having its objects not confined to the State of Bombay, now, so far as this case is concerned, the State of Maharashtra. The appeal has been referred to me as there has been a difference of opinion between Mr. Justice Mudholkar, as he then was, and Mr. Justice Patel.

(2) The appellant is the Servants of India Society founded by the late Mr. G. K. Gokhale on 12th June 1905. It is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860), and shall hereafter be referred to as the Society. When the Bombay Public Trusts Act (XXIX of 1950), which shall hereafter be referred to as the Act, came into force, the society applied under section 18 (1) of that Act registration and, in an enquiry in connection with that application held by the Assistant Charity Commissioner under section 19, contended that the provisions of the Act could not apply to the Society on the ground that it was registered under the Societies Registration Act and was a Corporation and the State Legislature had no power to pass














































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