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2013 Supreme(Raj) 1913
RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT AT JAIPUR BENCH
Banwari Lal Sharma, J.
Hari Ram and Anr. - Appellant
Versus
Goyenka Welfare Trust, Fatehpur, District Sikar - Respondent
S.B. Civil Revision Petition No. 45 of 2013.
Decided On : 03-10-2013
For the Petitioner-Defendant:Anoop Dhand, Advocate.
For the Respondent-Plaintiff:Ajay Bajpayee, Advocate.
Headnote:
Public Trust - Registration of Trust - The court held that the question of whether the plaintiff-respondent is a Public trust or a Private Trust is a mixed question of law and fact and could be decided after recording the evidence of the parties. The provisions of Order 7, Rule 1 CPC do not burden the plaintiff to specify whether the Trust was registered or unregistered, and the plaint cannot be dismissed solely on this ground.
Fact of the Case:
The defendant-petitioners filed an application under Order 7, Rule 11 read with Section 151 CPC, claiming that the plaintiff-respondent, a Public Trust, is unregistered and therefore the suit filed by it is not maintainable.
Finding of the Court:
The Court found that the question of whether the plaintiff-respondent is a Public trust or a Private Trust is a mixed question of law and fact and could be decided after recording the evidence of the parties. The court directed the trial Court to frame a legal issue regarding the objection of whether the plaintiff-respondent is a Public Trust or not after the filing of the written statement by the defendant-petitioners.
Issues: The main issue was whether the suit filed by the plaintiff-respondent, an unregistered Public Trust, was maintainable.
Ratio Decidendi: The provisions of Order 7, Rule 1 CPC do not burden the plaintiff to specify whether the Trust was registered or unregistered, and the plaint cannot be dismissed solely on this ground.
Final Decision: The Revision petition as well as the Stay Application were disposed of, and the trial Court was directed to frame a legal issue with regard to the objection of whether the plaintiff-respondent is a Public Trust or not after the filing of the written statement by the defendant-petitioners.
Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:
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The case involves a civil revision petition filed by the defendant-petitioners against an order passed by the trial court concerning a suit filed by the plaintiff-respondent, who claims to be a Public Trust (!) .
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The defendant-petitioners argued that the plaintiff-respondent's suit should be dismissed because, under the relevant law, a Public Trust must be registered to be considered legally valid, and the plaintiff-respondent's trust was unregistered [17000347070001].
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The court observed that whether the plaintiff-respondent is a Public Trust or a Private Trust is a mixed question of law and fact, which can only be properly determined after recording evidence from both parties (!) .
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The court noted that the provisions of the applicable procedural rules do not require the plaintiff to specify the registration status of the trust in the plaint, and the suit cannot be dismissed solely on the ground of registration status (!) .
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The trial court's order, which dismissed the defendant-petitioners' application under Order 7, Rule 11, was upheld, with the direction that a legal issue regarding the nature of the trust (public or private) should be framed and decided as a preliminary issue after the defendant's written statement is filed (!) .
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The appellate court found no illegality or irregularity in the trial court's decision and disposed of the revision petition and stay application accordingly, emphasizing that the question of the trust's registration status is a matter for evidence and cannot be a ground for dismissing the suit at this stage (!) .
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Overall, the case underscores that the maintainability of a suit involving a trust does not solely depend on whether the trust is registered, and the determination of the trust's nature requires a factual inquiry through evidence (!) (!) .
Please let me know if you need further analysis or assistance regarding this case.
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