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270.20FA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

BENCH AT AURANGABAD

FIRST APPEAL NO.270 OF 2020

Siddhavinayak s/o. Kashinathappa Bondre,

Age: 78 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Chikhali, Tq. Chikhali,

Dist. Buldhana.

Swamy Vivekanand Marg Near Anuradha

Engineering College, Paramkuti. .. APPELLANT

[Orig. R.No.3]

VERSUS

1]

Janardhan s/o. Dattuappa Bondre,

Age: 78 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Chikhali, Tq. Chikhali,

Dist. Buldhana.

2]

Baburao Asaram Bhutekar,

Age: 68 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Nava, Tq. and Dist. Jalna.

3]

Subhash Ramrao Kuhire,

Age: 64 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Nava, Tq. and Dist. Jalna.

4]

Prakashand Maharaj Guru Vivekanand

Maharaj, Age : 56 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Nava, Tq. and Dist. Jalna.

5]

Shripad Gangadhar Minase,

Age: 54 years, Occ : Agriculture,

R/o. Deolgaon Raja, Tq. Deolgaon Raja,

Dist. Buldhana, Near Balaji Mandir.

6]

The Assistant Charity Commissioner,

Jalna.

.. RESPONDENTS

[Ori Applicant and

R.Nos.1, 2, 4, 5, 6]

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270.20FA

…

Ms.Pradnya Talekar, Advocate for the appellant.

Mr.S.S.Thombre, Advocate for respondent nos.2 and 3.

…

CORAM : S.G.DIGE, J.

Reserved on : 14.09.2022.

Pronounced on : 06.10.2022

JUDGMENT :

1]

The issue involved in this appeal is remand

order passed by the District Judge-3, Jalna [for short ‘the

learned District Judge’] in Civil Misc. Application No. 82 of

2015, directing the Assistant Charity Commissioner, Jalna

[for short ‘

the ACC’] to appoint first body of trustees by

obtaining biodatas and consent letter of the suitable persons

within a period of three months.

Brief facts of the case are as under:

2]

Shri Anandi Atmanand Saraswati @ Rangnath

Maharaj Vishranti Math is a public charitable trust [for short

‘

said trust’

]. An application seeking formulation of new

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270.20FA

scheme was filed in the year 1997 under Section 50-A (1) of

the Bombay Public Trusts Act [for short ‘BPT Act’], which

came to be decided by the ACC, Jalna on 20.06.2000. The

said scheme was challenged before the District Court, Jalna,

the learned District Court was pleased to remand the matter

for fresh disposal. Thereafter, the ACC decided the said

enquiry application vide judgment and order dated 11^th

March, 2015, by holding that it was necessary to frame

scheme for the said trust and appointed the first body of

trustees along with framing of the scheme. The said

judgment of the ACC was challenged by filing two separate

Civil Misc. Applications under Section 72 of the BPT Act

before the learned District Judge, Jalna. The learned District

Judge has decided both Civil Misc. Applications by common

judgment and order. He rejected the Civil Misc. Application

No. 78 of 2015, the same has not been challenged by any

party. In Civil Misc. Application No.82 of 2015, the District

Judge has held that framing of new scheme for the said

trust was necessary and the ACC has rightly framed the

scheme, however, held that consents and bio-datas of the

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270.20FA

proposed trustees were not sought prior to their

appointments, hence, remanded the matter to the ACC for

appointment of first body of trustees. The said order is

under challenge.

3]

It is the contention of the learned counsel for

the appellant that the said trust in question is a very old

religious and charitable trust, having more than 500 acres

of land, however, had fallen prey to mismanagement and

inefficiency owing to absence of a proper scheme to meet

present day requirements as also the maladministration by

the then trustees. The trust was administered based on a

vahivatpatra registered sometime in 1914. The application

was filed under Section 50-A (1) of the BPT Act for framing

the scheme and for appointment of trustees. Accordingly,

the ACC has considered all the facts and appointed the

appellant as trustee. The ACC has rightl