Bombay HC says no reason to interfere in Charity Commissioner’s Asiatic Society election order

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday found no reason to interfere with a March 13 order of the Charity Commissioner that deferred the scheduled March 14 elections to the managing committee of Asiatic Society of Mumbai, probably the oldest public research library in Mumbai, founded in 1804 and appointed a committee for day to day affairs. The commissioner also appointed a sub-committee to prepare a fresh list of valid voters within two months, and directed to conduct polls within a month thereafter under the supervision of the deputy charity commissioner.The HC dismissed two petitions filed by former Rajya Sabha member Kumar Ketkar and others, and Deepak Pawar, who through senior counsel Atul Damle, challenged the Commissioner Amogh Kaloti's order. The petitions make no case of patent illegality or arbitrariness, to warrant any interference of the HC, Justice Farhan Dubash held. The petitioners wanted the polls to proceed as scheduled on March 14.The addition of 1467 new names to the final voters' list was among the irregularities that led CC to step in, advocate general Milind Sathe said. Justice Farhan Dubash said, "Considering these irregularities, the Charity Commissioner appears to have correctly instituted an inquiry into the affairs of Asiatic Society…''The HC said the CC considered the various issues of membership, functioning of the Managing Committee, before invoking its powers to aptly issue an interim arrangement for the Society's effective management and administration.
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