IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16292 of 2020 ==========================================================

ASHWINKUMAR RAMNIKLAL MANIYAR Versus STATE OF GUJARAT ==========================================================

Appearance:

NIKITA S BAROT(7417) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 SANSKRUTI R SHUKLA(8913) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 MR. ROHAN SHAH, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER/PP for the Respondent(s) No. 1 DELETED for the Respondent(s) No. 5,8 MR PREMAL S RACHH(3297) for the Respondent(s) No. 11 NOTICE NOT RECD BACK for the Respondent(s) No. 6,7 NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 10,2,3,4,9 ==========================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV Date : 09/11/2022

ORAL ORDER

1 Heard Ms.Nikita Barot, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr.Rohan Shah, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the State respondents Nos. 1 and 2 and Mr.Premal Rachh, learned advocate for respondents Nos.

3 to 11.

2 Challenge in this petition is to an order passed by the Charity Commissioner dated 13.10.2020 by which the application filed under Section 41-A of the Gujarat Public Trusts Act, 1950, has been rejected.

3 Facts in brief would indicate that one Jayaben Jerambhai Maniyar, who was the paternal aunt of the father of the petitioner, during her lifetime, had in the year 1980 donated Rs.75,000/- to the respondent Adarsh Education Trust. The amount so donated was, according to the petitioner conditional, inasmuch as, it was agreed by and between the Trust and Jayaben that the school that was imparting education would be named as “J.N.Maniyar Adarsh Primary School”. Secondly, it was also agreed that every year five students names that may be given by Jayaben and subsequent thereto by the father of the petitioner will be admitted and given education without charging fees. The Trust, accordingly passed a Resolution on 07.03.1979 accepting such donation.

3.1 Over a period of time, finding that the Right to Free & Compulsory Education had come into force, the Trust, on 10.03.2013 by Resolution No. 53 resolved to discontinue the practice of free education and accordingly informed the petitioner of such practice. The education society informed the petitioner by communication of 22.04.2013 and 24.05.2013 of such practice having been discontinued.

3.2 Invoking the provisions of Sec.41-A of the Act, therefore, the petitioner approached the Charity Commissioner by filing an application with a prayer that the Resolution of 10.03.2013 be declared as null and void and the Trust be directed to continue imparting free education to the five students of which assurance was given by the Trust based on which the donation was so made by the grand mother of the petitioner. By the impugned order, the application was rejected by the Charity Commissioner, hence the petition.

4 The order is assailed by Ms.Barot, learned counsel for the petitioner on the following grounds:

4.1 She would submit that it was a specific and a clear understanding between the grand mother Jayaben and the Trust, based on which donation of Rs.75,000/- was made wherein it was understood that not only would the school be named as ‘J.N.Maniyar Adarsh Primary School’, but five students each year, names of which have been supplied with the copy of the petition would be so mentioned by firstly the grand mother when she was alive then thereafter by the petitioner’s father and would be given the benefit of free education.

4.2 In the year 1990, when the grand mother passed away, she had executed a Will. The condition in the Will specifically made the petitioner’s father eligible to enforce the conditions laid down for extending the benefit of donation and that the School and the Trust therefore were bound to honour the commitment of extending free education to the students whose names were suggested firstly by the deceased grand mother and thereafter by the father of the petitioner, who died on 27.04.2001.

4.3 Ms.Barot, learned co