* Author
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 62 : 2024 INSC 339
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi
v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar and Others
(Civil Appeal Nos. 5323 - 5324 of 2024)
25 April 2024
[A.S. Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar,* JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Whether delay in submitting Change Report to record name in
register maintained u/s 7 Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 (1950
Act) in relation to the Vahiwatdar (Administrator) of a Public Trust,
can be condoned. Further, consequence of Change Report being
submitted beyond stipulated time of 90 days u/s 22(1) 1950 Act.
Headnotes
Appellant was registered as a Public Trust u/s. 18 of the 1950
Act – Mode of succession of managership was that Mallikarjun
Mahalingappa Patil was to be the Vahiwatdar of the Trust and
the eldest male member of his family was to succeed him –
Vahiwatdar also empowered to co-opt others – First Change
Report submitted by Jagdishchandra to record his name in
register maintained u/s. 17 of the 1950 Act belatedly – First
Change Report accepted and held to be legal and valid by
Deputy Charity Commissioner – Jagdishchandra appointed
four other persons as Trustees, by co-opting them – Second
Change Report filed to record names of said four persons in
register maintained u/s. 17 of the 1950 Act – Second Change
Report held to be legal by Assistant Charity Commissioner –
Appeals/Revision applications challenging orders accepting
both Change Reports dismissed – Writ Petitions filed against
orders accepting and confirming both Change Reports – Same
allowed by High Court as no separate order passed by the
Deputy Charity Commissioner, condoning delay of over 17
years in filing of first Change Report as being contrary to s.
22 1950 Act – Consequently, second Change Report could
not be sustained.
Held: S. 22 of the 1950 Act was amended in 2017 whereby proviso
was added in s. 22(1) of the 1950 Act providing for condonation of
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 63
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
delay in filing of a Change Report, if sufficient cause is shown – Not
mandatory that written application be filed seeking condonation of
delay and relief can be granted in that regard upon oral request,
provided sufficient cause is shown for such delay – Even otherwise,
2017 proviso merely clarificatory in nature – Wording of s. 22(1)
of the 1950 Act, as it stood earlier, did not negate applicability of
s. 29(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963, and in consequence, s. 5 of
Limitation Act, 1963, could be invoked for condonation of delay in
submission of Change Report – If Change Report not submitted
within stipulated period, 1950 Act does not contemplate automatic
invalidation of assumption of office as the Vahiwatdar of the Trust
– Failure to file Change Reports would invite penal consequences
that would flow only from orders passed by authorities concerned
under the relevant provisions – When failure to file a Change Report
would not be fatal in itself, delay in filing a Change Report cannot
automatically impact the assumption of office by a Vahiwatdar of
a Trust – Proviso added in s. 22(1) 1950 Act further indicates the
same – There should be liberal, pragmatic, justice-oriented, nonpedantic approach while dealing with application for condonation
of delay – Courts usually condone delay in filing as purpose is to
advance justice. [Paras 19-22, 25]
Case Law Cited
Bhagmal & Ors. v. Kunwar Lal & Ors. [2010] 8 SCR
1104 : [2010] 12 SCC 159; Sesh Nath Singh & Anr.
v. Baidyabati Sheoraphuli Co-operative Bank Ltd. &
Anr [2021] 3 SCR 806 : [2021] 7 SCC 313; Esha
Bhattacharjee v. Managing Committee of Raghunathpur
Nafar Academy & Ors. [2013] 9 SCR 782 : [2013] 12
SCC 649 - relied on
List of Acts
Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 (Maharashtra Public Trusts Act,
1950); Limitation Act, 1963.
List of Keywords
Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 – s. 17 and s. 22; Condonation
of delay; s. 5 Limitation Act, 1963 applicable to delay in submission
of Change Report; Delay in filing Change Report curable defect;
Assumption of office not automatically invalidated by delay.
64 [2024] 5 S.C.R.
Digital Supreme Court Reports
Case Arising From
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 5323-5324
of 2024
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.08.2019 of the High Court
of Judicature at Bombay in WP Nos. 8570 and 8571 of 2019
Appearances for Parties
Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv., Abhay Anil Anturkar, Dhruv Tank, Nitin
Habib, Aniruddha Awalgaonkar, Bhagwant Deshpande, M/S. Dr. R.R.
Deshpande and Associates, Advs. for the Appellant.
Sudhanshu S. Choudhari, Sr. Adv., A. Selvin Raja, Advs. for the
Respondents.
Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court
Judgment
Sanjay Kumar, J
1. Leave granted.
2. Acceptance of Change Reports in relation to the Vahiwatdar
(Administrator) and Trustees of Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi,
a Public Trust, is in issue. A learned Judge of the High Court of
Judicature at Bombay invalidated such acceptance and remanded
the matters to the Deputy Charity Commissioner, Solapur Region,
Solapur, for consideration afresh. Hence, these appeals.
3. Though, no interim orders were passed by this Court, we are informed
that the orders of remand have not been acted upon owing to the
pendency of these cases. Further, in terms of the High Court’s
directions, the Vahiwatdar and the Trustees, whose names were
already entered in the records, are continuing to administer the
Trust as on date.
4. Facts, to the extent relevant, played out thus: By application dated
26.05.1952, Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil applied for registration of
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi, as a Public Trust, under Section
18 of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, now known as Maharashtra
Public Trusts Act, 1950 (for brevity, ‘the Act of 1950’). The object of
this Trust was the upkeep and maintenance of Shri Mallikarjun Temple
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 65
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
at Shelgi, North Solapur Taluka. Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi,
was accordingly registered as a Public Trust. The mode of succession
of managership and trusteeship, as provided in the application, was
that Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil was to be the Vahiwatdar of the
Trust and the eldest male member of his family was to succeed him.
Further, the Vahiwatdar was also empowered to co-opt others, if and
when necessary. Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil passed away in the
year 1992 and his eldest son, Ashok Mallikarjun Patil, became the
Vahiwatdar of the Trust. Thereafter, Ashok Mallikarjun Patil died on
16.02.1997 and his brother, Jagdishchandra Mallikarjun Patil, took
over. Jagdishchandra was the third son of Mallikarjun Mahalingappa
Pati, but his elder brother, Satish Patil, the second son of Mallikarjun
Mahalingappa Pati, had no interest in taking over as the Vahiwatdar
of the Trust. Thus, Jagdishchandra assumed the role of Vahiwatdar
though he was not the eldest male member in the family.
5. It would be apposite at this stage to note the statutory scheme
obtaining under the Act of 1950. Section 17 thereof mandates that,
in every Public Trusts Registration Office or Joint Public Trusts
Registration Office, the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner
concerned should keep and maintain such books, indices and other
registers, as may be prescribed, which shall contain such particulars
as may also be prescribed. Section 18 of the Act of 1950 provides
for registration of Public Trusts upon application and prescribes the
procedure therefor. Section 19 empowers the Deputy or Assistant
Charity Commissioner concerned to make an inquiry upon receipt
of an application for registration of a Public Trust under Section 18.
Section 20 of the Act of 1950 states that, upon completion of such
inquiry, the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner shall record
his finding with reasons therefor and make an order for the payment
of the registration fee, if he is satisfied. Section 21(1) requires the
Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner to then make necessary
entries in the register maintained under Section 17. Section 21(2)
provides that the entries so made shall, subject to the provisions
of the Act of 1950 and subject to any change recorded as per the
provisions thereof, be final and conclusive.
6. Section 22(1) of the Act of 1950, as it stood prior to 2017, stated
that where any change occurs in any of the entries recorded in
the register maintained under Section 17, the Trustee shall, within
66 [2024] 5 S.C.R.
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90 days from the date of occurrence of such change, report the
same to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner in charge
of the Registration Office where the register is kept. Section 22(2)
empowers the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner to hold
an inquiry for the purpose of verifying the correctness of the entries
or for ascertaining whether any change has occurred in any of the
particulars, recorded in the register kept under Section 17. The first
proviso to Section 22(2) states that, in case of change in the names
and addresses of the Trustees and Managers etc., the Deputy or
Assistant Charity Commissioner may provisionally accept the change
and issue a notice inviting objections to such change within thirty
days from the date of publication of such notice. The second proviso
states that if no objections are received within that time, the order
provisionally accepting the change shall become final and entry
thereof shall be taken in the register kept under Section 17. The
third proviso states that if objections are received within thirty days,
the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner may hold an inquiry
in the prescribed manner and record a finding within three months
from the date of filing objections.
7. Section 22(3) of the Act of 1950 speaks of how the Deputy or Assistant
Charity Commissioner is to record a finding after completing the
aforestated inquiry, which may include a decision to remove the name
of the Trust from the register by reason of the change. Further, it
provides that the finding recorded shall be appealable to the Charity
Commissioner. It then states that the Deputy or Assistant Charity
Commissioner shall amend or delete the entries in the register in
accordance with his finding, and if appeals or applications were
made against such finding, in accordance with the final decision of
the competent authority, and the amendment in the entries so made,
subject to any further amendment on occurrence of a change or any
cancellation of entries, shall be final and conclusive. Section 41D
provides for the suspension, removal or dismissal of Trustees by
the Charity Commissioner, if any of the grounds mentioned therein
is satisfied. Such power can be exercised either on application of a
Trustee or any person interested in the Trust and one of the grounds
for such action being taken against the Trustee is continuous neglect
of his duty or a breach of trust in respect of the Trust.
8. Section 70 provides for appeals to the Charity Commissioner against
the findings or orders of the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 67
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
in the cases enumerated under Section 70(1)(a) to 70(1)(e). Section
70(1)(b) relates to findings under Section 22. Further, Section 70A(1)
of the Act of 1950 empowers the Charity Commissioner to call for
and examine, either suo motu or on an application, the record and
proceedings of any of the cases before any Deputy or Assistant
Charity Commissioner, mentioned in Section 70 thereof, for the
purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness of any finding
or order recorded or passed by the Deputy or Assistant Charity
Commissioner. Notably, the Act of 1950 was amended in the year
2017, whereby a proviso was added in Section 22(1). This proviso
states that the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner may extend
the period of 90 days for reporting the change, on being satisfied
that there was a sufficient cause for not reporting the change within
the stipulated period, subject to payment of costs by the reporting
Trustee to the Public Trust Administration Fund.
9. Given the above statutory milieu, it was incumbent upon Jagdishchandra
to submit a Change Report within the stipulated 90 days but he did
so, long thereafter, on 21.10.2015. He also filed a delay condonation
application therewith, stating that he did not file the Change Report
earlier by mistake as he was not aware about it. His report was
taken on file as Change Report No. 899 of 2015. Judgment dated
15.03.2016 was passed therein by the Deputy Charity Commissioner,
Solapur. Thereby, the Change Report was held to be legal and valid,
taking note of the fact that no one had taken an objection thereto. In
consequence, Schedule 1, pertaining to the Trust, was directed to
be amended after expiry of the appeal period. However, no appeal
was filed against this judgment within such period.
10. Thereafter, Jagdishchandra appointed four other persons, viz., Kedar
Patil, Shailesh Patil, Vishwajit Virajkumar Nandimath and Balasaheb
Yelshetty as Trustees, by co-opting them on 28.03.2017. He filed
Change Report No. 1177 of 2017 to record their names in the register
maintained under Section 17 of the Act of 1950.
11. While so, five persons, viz., Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar, Abhijeet
Prakash Birajdar, Kalyani Mallappa Birajdar, Sachin Shivanand
Birajdar and Kedar Shivanna Birajdar, claiming to be the devotees of
Shri Mallikarjun Temple at Shelgi filed an application under Section
70A of the Act of 1950 before the Joint Charity Commissioner,
Pune, against the judgment dated 15.03.2016 passed by the Deputy
68 [2024] 5 S.C.R.
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Charity Commissioner, Solapur, accepting Change Report No. 899
of 2015. The same was taken on file as Revision Application No.
61 of 2017. Therein, these five devotees questioned the eligibility of
Jagdishchandra to be the Vahiwatdar of the subject Trust, alleging that
he had ‘unlawfully, without having any kind of relation, by cheating
and misleading villagers, society as well as the Hon’ble Court, filed
the Change Report No. 899 of 2015 and obtained approval’. They
further alleged that the Deputy Charity Commissioner had not made
a proper inquiry on the Change Report. According to them, after the
death of Ashok Mallikarjun Patil, the functioning of the Trust was
being handled by the villagers and they had been looking after the
worship and other programs and Jagdishchandra was just overseeing
the Temple. They, however, did not make the delay on his part a
ground of challenge.
12. However, Jagdishchandra filed an application in the revision pointing
out that he had filed a delay condonation application in relation to the
filing of Change Report No. 899 of 2015 and that pendency of the
same may adversely affect his legal rights. He prayed that a finding
be called for from the Deputy Charity Commissioner, Solapur, about
the said application pending the revision. By order dated 29.01.2019,
the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune, held that the Change Report
had been accepted, which meant that the delay stood condoned, and
it was not necessary to call for a finding on the delay condonation
application.
13. Thereafter, the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune, dismissed Revision
Application No. 61 of 2017 filed by the five devotees, vide judgment
dated 09.07.2019. Therein, the Joint Charity Commissioner observed
that Jagdishchandra was the son of Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil,
at whose behest the Public Trust had been registered. He noted
that Jagdishchandra was the third son and that the other four sons,
including Satish, who was older than Jagdishchandra, had filed
affidavits stating that they consented to his appointment as Trustee.
The Joint Charity Commissioner also noted that the revision applicants
were not members of the family of Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil and
that their other revision, being Revision Application No. 60 of 2017,
challenging the order dated 17.06.1954 passed in Inquiry Application
No. 25 of 1952, pertaining to the registration of the subject Trust,
had already been dismissed on 10.10.2017.
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 69
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
14. In the meanwhile, as regards Change Report No. 1177 of 2017
pertaining to the co-option of four Trustees by Jagdishchandra, the
Assistant Charity Commissioner, Solapur, delivered judgment dated
18.04.2018. Therein, while noting that some of the devotees of the
Temple had filed objections to the said report, he ultimately held that
the Change Report was legal and acceptable. The opponents to the
Change Report had contended that Jagdishchandra was not the
eldest son of Mallikarjun Mahalingappa Patil, but the Assistant Charity
Commissioner noted that Ashok Mallikarjun Patil, the eldest son, had
died issueless and the second son, Satish, claimed no interest in
the Trust. Further, the Assistant Charity Commissioner took note of
the fact that the revision filed against the registration of the subject
Trust had been dismissed by the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune.
The Assistant Charity Commissioner, accordingly, concluded that
the Change Report was acceptable, subject to the decision in the
revision filed against the judgment in relation to Change Report No.
899 of 2015 pending before the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune.
15. Aggrieved by this judgment, two of the devotees, Shivshankar
Revansidha Birajdar and Prakash Sangappa Birajdar, filed Appeal
No. 79 of 2018 before the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune, under
Section 70 of the Act of 1950. The said appeal was dismissed
by the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune, vide judgment dated
09.07.2019. Therein, the Joint Charity Commissioner held that as
Revision Application No. 61 of 2017 pertaining to Change Report
No. 899 of 2015 was dismissed by a separate judgment on that day,
Jagdishchandra stood confirmed as the Vahiwatdar of the subject
Trust and, therefore, he had a right to co-opt Trustees.
16. Assailing the dismissal of their Revision Application No. 61 of 2017,
vide judgment dated 09.07.2019, confirming the judgment dated
15.03.2016 passed by the learned Deputy Charity Commissioner,
Solapur, in respect of Change Report No. 899 of 2015, the five
devotees filed W.P. No. 8570 of 2019 before the High Court of
Judicature at Bombay. Therein, for the very first time, they raised the
ground of delay of more than 17 years on the part of Jagdishchandra
in filing a Change Report after the death of Ashok Mallikarjun Patil
on 16.02.1997.
17. Challenging the dismissal of their Appeal No. 79 of 2018, vide judgment
dated 09.07.2019 passed by the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune,
70 [2024] 5 S.C.R.
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confirming the judgment dated 18.04.2018 passed by the Assistant
Charity Commissioner, Solapur, in respect of Change Report No.
1177 of 2017, the two devotees filed W.P. No. 8571 of 2019 before
the High Court of Judicature at Bombay.
18. By common judgment dated 27.08.2019, a learned Judge of the
High Court of Judicature at Bombay allowed both the writ petitions.
The point that weighed with the learned Judge was that there was
no separate order passed by the Deputy Charity Commissioner,
Solapur, condoning the delay of over 17 years in the filing of the first
Change Report. This, according to the learned Judge, was contrary
to Section 22 of the Act of 1950. He accordingly held that acceptance
of Jagdishchandra as the Vahiwatdar under Change Report No. 899
of 2015 could not be sustained and, in consequence, his Change
Report No. 1177 of 2017 could also not be sustained. It is on this sole
ground that the learned Judge restored the proceedings in relation to
both the Change Reports to the file and directed the Deputy Charity
Commissioner, Solapur, to decide them afresh. The learned Judge
further directed that the position existing as on that date should be
maintained, i.e., Jagdischandra and his nominated Trustees, who
were administering the Trust, were permitted to continue to administer
the Trust in accordance with law.
19. Before we proceed to consider the matter on merits, we may again
note the fact that the Act of 1950 was amended in 2017, whereby
a proviso was added in Section 22(1), providing for condonation of
delay in the filing of a Change Report, if sufficient cause is shown
therefor. It may be noted that no such proviso was in existence
at the time Change Report No. 899 of 2015 was submitted by
Jagdishchandra. Despite the same, he had filed a delay condonation
application therewith praying for condonation of the delay on his part
in filing the report. It is well settled that it is not mandatory that a
written application be filed seeking condonation of delay and relief
can be granted in that regard even upon an oral request, provided
sufficient cause is shown for such delay [See Bhagmal and others
vs. Kunwar Lal and others1 and Sesh Nath Singh and another vs.
Baidyabati Sheoraphuli Co-operative Bank Ltd. and another2
].
1 [2010] 8 SCR 1104 : (2010) 12 SCC 159
2 [2021] 3 S.C.R. 806 : (2021) 7 SCC 313
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 71
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
20. The proviso added in Section 22(1) in the year 2017 is merely
clarificatory in nature as is evident from the fact that it was ‘added’
in Section 22(1) and it did not bring about any substantive change.
Even in the absence thereof, the wording of Section 22(1) of the Act
of 1950, as it stood earlier, did not negate the applicability of Section
29(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963, and in consequence, Section 5 of
the Limitation Act, 1963, could be invoked for condonation of the
delay in the submission of a Change Report. Significantly, the High
Court did not call for the original file to verify whether the Deputy
Charity Commissioner, Solapur, had passed a separate order on
the delay condonation application, condoning the delay in exercise
of such power. In any event, the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune,
proceeded on the understanding that the delay had already been
condoned. He passed an order to that effect on 29.01.2019 and that
order was never challenged by the applicants in Revision Application
No.61 of 2017, viz., the Birajdar family. Once that order attained
finality, it is not open to them to ignore the same and reopen the
issue of delay before the High Court. All the more so, when the issue
of delay was never raised by them in Revision Application No. 61 of
2017 and was raised for the very first time only in the writ petition
filed against the judgment passed therein.
21. Further, what is of greater import is as to what would be the
consequence of a Change Report being submitted belatedly. In the
event a new Vahiwatdar takes over a Trust and, be it for whatever
reason, he fails to submit a Change Report within the stipulated
period of 90 days, what would be the fallout thereof? The provisions
of the Act of 1950 do not contemplate automatic invalidation of
his assumption of office as the Vahiwatdar of the Trust in such a
situation. Once a Trust is registered as a Public Trust under Section
18 of the Act of 1950, it becomes the statutory duty of the authorities
concerned to maintain proper records in relation to such Trust,
including the particulars of its Administrators and Trustees. The
Change Report in that regard has to be filed before the authorities
concerned to facilitate timely updating of records after hearing all
the parties concerned, as the statute provides for objections being
raised against a Change Report. Delay or failure in doing so would
mean that the records would not stand updated promptly. Objectors
to the changes in the Trust, if any, can always take recourse to the
remedies provided under the Act of 1950, complaining of the failure or
72 [2024] 5 S.C.R.
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delay in the filing of a Change Report and the adverse consequences
of such changes, if any.
22. Notably, as per the statutory scheme, failure to file Change Reports
would invite penal consequences under Section 66 of the Act of 1950,
which provides that whoever contravenes Section 22 and fails to
report a change would be liable to pay a fine of ₹10,000/-. Continued
failure to do so may invite more adverse consequences, as provided
in the Act of 1950, but such consequences would flow from the orders
passed by the authorities concerned under the relevant provisions
and would not stem from such failure automatically. Therefore, when
failure to file a Change Report would not be fatal in itself, the delay in
filing a Change Report cannot automatically impact the assumption
of office by a Vahiwatdar of a Trust. The very fact that a proviso was
added in Section 22(1) of the Act of 1950, enabling the authority
concerned to condone the delay in the filing of the Change Report,
if sufficient cause is made out, clearly indicates that such delay is
curable and the delay in filing a Change Report would not, by itself,
entail non-acceptance or nullification of the changes in the Trust
which are sought to be informed to the authorities with delay. In
Esha Bhattacharjee vs. Managing Committee of Raghunathpur
Nafar Academy and others3
, this Court observed that there should
be a liberal, pragmatic, justice-oriented, non-pedantic approach while
dealing with an application for condonation of delay as Courts are
not supposed to legalize injustice but are obliged to remove injustice.
23. That apart, it appears that the devotees, all bearing the same family
name ‘Birajdar’, who are raising objections seem to have a grievance
with the very registration of the subject Trust, but their revision in
that regard stood dismissed and appears to have attained finality.
After such dismissal, in the capacity of being devotees of the Temple,
they can have no legitimate grievance with regard to the succession
to the post of Vahiwatdar of the subject Trust. More so, when the
eldest male member in the founder’s family has no issue with it.
24. Though it has been contended before us on behalf of the devotees
that the Trust is not taking proper care of the Temple, we are of the
opinion that such an issue cannot be a ground for them to challenge
the Change Reports relating to the Vahiwatdar and the Trustees
3 [2013] 9 S.C.R. 782 : (2013) 12 SCC 649
[2024] 5 S.C.R. 73
Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shelgi v.
Subhash Mallikarjun Birajdar & Ors.
of the subject Trust. Separate machinery is provided in the Act of
1950 to address such issues and it is for them to take recourse to
such statutory remedies, if so advised. Their repeated attempts to
attack the Change Reports relating to assumption of office by the
new administration of the Trust only indicates their inimical attitude
thereto and to the family of the founder, Mallikarjun Mahalingappa
Patil. All in all, much ado about nothing!
25. Viewed thus, we are of the opinion that the learned Judge of the
High Court of Judicature at Bombay adopted a rather hypertechnical
approach by attaching so much importance to the delay in the
submission of the first Change Report. Much did not turn upon the
same as it was a curable defect. In any event, it had no impact on
the change that had been brought about in the subject Trust but
which was informed to the authorities belatedly.
26. The common judgment dated 27.08.2019 passed by the High Court
of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition Nos. 8570 and 8571 of
2019, therefore, cannot be sustained and is accordingly set aside.
In consequence, acceptance of Change Report Nos. 899 of 2015
and 1177 of 2017 is confirmed.
Both the civil appeals are allowed.
Pending applications, if any, shall stand closed.
Parties shall bear their own costs.
Headnotes prepared by: Result of the case:
Aandrita Deb, Hony. Associate Editor Appeals allowed.
(Verified by: Abhinav Mukerji, Sr. Adv.)
