The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Charity Commissioner has the authority to modify the trust scheme under Section 50A(3) of the Gujarat Public Trust Act after hearing the trustees, and the test for modification is stricter than that under Section 50A(1). The reasons for modification must be germane to what is provided under Section 50A(1).

JUDGMENT :

1. The present writ-application is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by the writ-applicants seeking the following reliefs :-

“(A) Your Lordship may be pleased to admit and allow the present Petition.

(B) Your lordship be pleased to issue a writ of certiorari or a writ in nature of certiorari and / or any of the writ, order or direction and be pleased to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 22.02.2022 (Annexure A) passed below Exhibit 56 by the learned Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar below Scheme Application No. 3 of 2021.

(C) Your Lordship be pleased to direct the learned Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar firstly to decide preliminary issues as raised by the Petitioner below Exhibit 17 before deciding or passing any order below Scheme Application No. 3 of 2021.

(D) Pending hearing and final disposal of the present Petition, your Lordship be pleased to stay the further proceedings of Scheme Application No. 3 of 2021 pending before the learned Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar.

(E) This Hon'ble Court may be pleased to grant such other and further relief as deemed just and proper in the interest of justice.”

2. The facts as stated by the writ-applicants are produced thus :-

2.1 Shri Digambar Jain Swadhyaya Mandir Trust (for short ‘the Trust’) is a religious charitable Trust registered which is registered vide registration No.A/902 with the office of the Assistant Charity Commissioner Bhavnagar.

2.2 On 27.8.1982, the learned Joint Charity Commissioner, Rajkot framed the scheme in respect of the said trust by an order below Scheme Application No. 7 of 1981. In October, 2020, the Trust issued an agenda notice for calling upon meeting for appointment of new trustees In the meeting convened, two new trustees i.e. present writ-applicant and Mr. Harshad Prabhudas Kamdar were appointed as the trustees of the Trust.

2.3 An application being Application No. 41/A/12/2020 under the Trusts Act, 1950 before the learned Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar came to be preferred challenging the appointment of the writ-applicant and Harshad Kamdar as trustees of the Trust by Rajesh Jhaveri. By an order dated 29.6.2021 the said application came to be allowed. Against the order dated 29.6.2021 the writ-applicant preferred Special Civil Application No.12856 of 2021 before this Court and the same writ-application is pending adjudication. On 8.9.2021 two existing trustees of the Trust alongwith one beneficiary filed Scheme Application No.3 before the Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar seeking modification of the Scheme. On 9.11.2021, the Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar registered the application under Section 50A(3) and thereafter the application was fixed for hearing on 8.12.2021. On 19.1.2022, public notice came to be issued. On 8.2.2022 preliminary objections came to be filed below Ex.17 and 18 by the writ-applicant. On 3.2.2022, the writ-applicant below Ex.23 filed the objections to the Scheme Application No.3/2021. On 16.2.2022, the writ-applicant filed written arguments. 22.2.2022 the Joint Charity Commissioner, Bhavnagar by common order below Ex.56 decided the application below Ex.15 to 21 which includes the application filed by the writ-applicant for the purpose of deciding preliminary issue with regard to maintainability of the Scheme Application whereby the respondent No.1 passed an order that all the applications will be decided at the time of deciding the main Scheme Amendment Application.

2.4 In view of above, the writ-applicant is constrained to approach this Court by filing the present writ-application.

3. Mr. Navin Pahwa, the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the writ-applicant submitted that the impugned order passed by the learned Joint Charity Commissioner dated 22.2.2022 is passed ignoring the provisions of Section 50A of the Act and submitted that it is settled position of law that at the time of considering the application for Scheme modification it is necessary to consider as