SERVANTS OF INDIA SOCIETY Vs. CHARITY COMMISSIONER OF BOMBAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal raises the question whether the , applies to a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and having its objects not confined to the State of Bombay, now, so far as this case is concerned, the State of Maharashtra. The appeal has been referred to me as there has been a difference of opinion between Mr. Justice Mudholkar, as he then was, and Mr. Justice Patel.

(2.) THE appellant is the Servants of India Society founded by the late Mr. G. K. Gokhale on 12th June 1905. It is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860), and shall hereafter be referred to as the Society. When the Bombay Public Trusts Act (XXIX of 1950), which shall hereafter be referred to as the Act, came into force, the society applied under section 18 (1) of that Act registration and, in an enquiry in connection with that application held by the Assistant Charity Commissioner under section 19, contended that the provisions of the Act could not apply to the Society on the ground that it was registered under the Societies Registration Act and was a Corporation and the State Legislature had no power to pass legislation purporting to govern such a society, though it was not disputed that the objects of the Society were charitable. It is not necessary for the purpose of this appeal to go into the other contentions raised on behalf of the Society in the enquiry. The aforesaid contention of the Society was, however, negatived by the Assistant Charity Commissioner, who ordered the certificate of registration to issue under the Act on 8th December 1953. This decision was upheld in appeal by the Charity Commissioner on 21st May 1954. The Society, therefore, filed an application under section 72 of the Act challenging the decision of the authorities under the Act on the ground that the society being registered under the Societies Registration Act, was a Corporation and the Sate Legislature would have not power to legislate about it by reason of entry 44, Seventh Schedule, List I Union List, of the Constitution. That application being Miscellaneous Application No. 204 of 1954 was heard by the learned District Judge of Poona, who negatived the contention of the Society that it was a corporation and held that it was an unincorporated body and the State Legislature was competent to pass the Act under entry 32 of List II - State List of the Constitution. He also held that the Society was a public trust within the definition of section 2 (13) of the Act and, therefore, liable to be registered under the provision of the Act. Consequently the application of the Society came to be dismissed by him. It is against this dismissal that the present appeal had been filed; and in this appeal, when it was heard by Mudholkar and Patel JJ. , the same two contentions were raised, viz. , whether the Society is a public charitable trust and whether the State Legislature was competent to make a law regulating a society of this type, objects of which were not confined to one state. On the first question, both the learned Judges held that the Society was a public charitable trust, but they differed, as already stated, on the other point and that consequently is the only point which I am required to consider in this appeal.

(3.) MR. Amin, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant-Society, contends that all Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act would be corporations or, at any rate, quasi-corporations; and since the Society's objects are not confined to this State, only Parliament can pass legislation about it by virtue of entry 44, List I -Union List, of the Seventh Schedule, of the Constitution. It, therefore, becomes necessary to refer to some of the entries in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, to which reference has been made in the course of arguments before me by Mr. Amin as well as the learned Government Pleader, who appeared on behalf of the Charity Commissioner.