SHRI SAURASHTRA LUHAR GNATI VIDHYOTEJAK MANDAL BHAVNAGAR THROUGH TRUSTEE BHAVESH SAVJIBHAI DODIYA vs JOINT CHARITY COMMISSIONER Advocate - APP — 109/2025

Case Summary: MCA 109/2025 Decision: The Principal District Judge dismissed the Trust's application and upheld the Charity Commissioner's orders, holding that a civil court cannot allow parties to settle disputes involving public trust property without the Charity Commissioner as a party. Key Facts: A trust received two plots via gift deed (2012) to construct a girls' school within three years. When construction was not completed, the donor's heirs sued. The parties reached a compromise settlement (without the Trust's lawyer present or the Charity Commissioner notified) returning one plot to the heirs. The Trust later sought to delete this plot from its Property Trust Record, but Charity officials refused, finding the civil settlement violated public trust law. Reasoning: The court held that trusts cannot enter into consent decrees affecting trust property without Charity Commissioner involvement, as this breaches statutory duties under the Gujarat Public Trust Act. The judge rejected the Trust's arguments and affirmed the lower authorities' positions that the underlying civil decree was improperly obtained. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.