IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
A.B. Chaudhari, J.
VIDARBHA YOUTH WELFARE SOCIETY, AMRAVATI – Petitioner
Vs.
SANDIP RAM MEGHE – Respondent
Civil Revision Application No. 84 of 2015
Decided On : 15-03-2016
Jurisdiction - Maharashtra Public Trusts Act - Section 50(1)(iv)(p) - Summary
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiffs filed a suit for declaration, permanent and mandatory injunction in the Court of Civil Judge Junior Division, Amravati, regarding the removal of life membership from the society of the trust. The trial Judge held that it has jurisdiction to try the suit.
Finding of the Court:
The Court found that the suit for challenging the validity of the resolution passed by the Trust was maintainable in individual capacity.
Issues: The main issue was whether the suit fell under section 50 of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act and whether the Civil Court had jurisdiction to decide the matter.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the individual right of a person or a member of a trust who claims infringement of his personal right and makes a grievance in relation thereto would be entitled to maintain a suit in the Civil Court. The Court also emphasized that the jurisdiction under section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure must be presumed to be intact unless taken away by the statutory law explicitly or impliedly.
Final Decision: The revision was dismissed, and a copy of the judgment was forwarded to the Principal Secretary, Law and Judiciary Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai for information and necessary action.
A.B. CHAUDHARI, J.
1. Being aggrieved by order dated 1-8-2015 passed by 8th Jt. Civil Judge Junior Division, Amravati below Exh.22 in Regular Civil Suit No. 178/2015, by which the learned trial Judge held that it has jurisdiction to try and entertain the suit and consequently rejected the objection as to the jurisdiction raised by the revision-applicants, the present Civil Revision Application has been filed.
2. In support of this revision application, Mr. Bhuibhar, learned Counsel for the revision applicants vehemently argued that the body of the suit plaint, averments as well as prayers and the reliefs claimed in the suit filed by the non applicants in the matter of removal of the members from the society of the trust are the matters falling under section 50(1)(iv)(p) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act (for the sake of brevity ‘Act’) and consequently in the absence of consent obtained under section 51 of the said Act and in view of the bar under section 80 thereof, the suit was clearly not maintainable and was required to be dismissed. Mr. Bhuibhar cited several decisions before me, which were also cited before the learned trial Judge. Mr. Bhuibhar has placed heavy reliance on the judgment of a Single Judge at Aurangabad Bench of this Court in Social and Cultural Association and others vs. State of Maharashtra and others, 2014 (4) Mh.L.J. 174 and submitted that the trial Judge has not correctly understood the said decision and has not applied the same in the facts and circumstances of the present case. Learned counsel for the revision applicants contended that the averments in the plaint as well as the reliefs claimed were clearly within the per-view of the decisions to be taken by the Assistant Charity Commissioner, who is empowered to decide the issues raised in the suit and, therefore, the bar under section 80 of the Act would forcefully apply. He then submitted that the decision on which reliance has been placed by the learned trial Judge do not have any application and ought to have been distinguished by the learned trial Judge and, therefore, the suit ought to have been dismissed being not maintainable by upholding the objection raised by the revision applicants. He, therefore, prayed that the suit be dismissed.
3. Per contra, Mr. Kadu, learned counsel for the non-applicants, supported the impugned order and submitted that the perusal of the plaint and the documents along with the plaint and the events stated therein gave rise to the cause of action for filing the suit. The reading of the same together will show that the questions raised cannot be decided by the Assistant Charity Commissioner to attract bar of section 80 of the Act. The trial Court, according to him, has correctly applied his mind to the entire averments of the plaint and the documents and the events which had occurred of taking predatory actions which were arbitrary. In order to enforce the infringement of their personal rights, plaintiffs had no other go but to file the civil suit. He then submitted that in the subject-matter of the suit, no proceedings are pending before the Assistant Charity Commissioner nor any such proceedings can even be contemplated and as such the only available remedy for the non applicants-plaintiffs was to invoke the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the civil Court under section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Consequently, he prayed for dismissal of the revision application. In support of his case, learned counsel for the non applicants cited decisions in the case of Naresh Amritlal Shah and others vs. Kantilal Chunilal Shah and others, 2001 (1) Mh.L.J. 572, Kedar Shivkumar Kale vs. Digamber Shridhar Mhapsekar and others, 2007 (4) Mh.L.J. 77.
Consideration:
4. I have perused the entire plaint and the accompanying documents referred to in the plaint. The respondent-plaintiffs have filed suit for declaration, permanent and mandatory injunction in the Court of Civil Judge Junior Division, Amravati vide Regular
Kedar Shivkumar Kale vs. Digamber Shridhar Mhapsekar and others
Leelavati w/o Vasantrao Pingle vs. Dattraya D. Kavishar and others
Naresh Amritlal Shah and others vs. Kantilal Chunilal Shah and others
Social and Cultural Association and others vs. State of Maharashtra and others
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