HC relief for the Parsee punchayet

It came as a major relief for the newly-elected trustees of the Bombay Parsee Punchayet (BPP) when Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed an order passed by the charity commissioner, directing prosecution and removal of the trustees.

On March 9, charity commissioner NV Deshmukh had passed an order stating that he would initiate action against the current trustees of punchayet as they had failed to comply with his January 23 order directing allotment of flats to 104 needy Parsis. The final list of 104 applicants had been approved by the earlier trustees. The new trustees were elected in October 2008 after the first-ever universal adult franchise elections were held for the 350 year-old trust.

Five current trustees had moved HC challenging the commissioner’s order to allot flats. The trustees’ lawyers RA Dada and Percy Ghandhy argued that the commissioner did not have power to issue judicial orders to resolve dispute between parties.

The petitioners submitted that the list of 104 applicants approved by the earlier trustees could not be implemented as many of them were out of turn in the Merit Rating Scheme. They argued the allotments made by the erstwhile trustees were flawed and the present trustees were entitled to review the allotments.

The HC also suggested that a retired Supreme Court judge be appointed to resolve the dispute.