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The court in its order considered that Shirdi Sansthan Trust, who has not only devotees from all over world, but has large properties for the benefits of the large number of public including devotees, the management shall be in the safe hands.
A division bench comprising Justice R.D. Dhanuka and Justice S.G. Mehare, of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to constitute a new management committee for the Shri Sai Baba Sanstha Trust, Shirdi.
The case pertains to a 2012 PIL which was filed before the court, wherein the court had directed the state government to form a committee as per the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi) Act, 2004. On failure, of the state government to appoint the committee the court formed an interim ad-hoc committee to govern the trust till a committee was formed by the state government. The committee constituted by the court consisted of the Principal District Judge, Ahmednagar i.e., the Chairman, the Collector, Ahmednagar, and the Chief Executive Officer of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust Shirdi as two members the committee.
In 2021, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, through a state government notification appointed various members on the committee who belonged to political parties of the ruling government.
The petitioner argued before the court that as per the act it is mandatory to appoint one woman, one person from a socially and economically backward class, and 8 members possessing professional and specialized knowledge. Further, it was also argued by the petitioner that the appointment was politically motivated and there were criminal cases pending against the members of the trust. The petitioner pointed out that the members of the trust belonged to various political parties including Shiv Sena, NCP, and INC.
The court while allowing the petition noted that the appointments were made not only in violation of the directions of the court but also against the provisions of the act. Further, the court noted that:
“If the State Government would have appointed independent trustees and not the politicians who are having a close connection with the ruling party, the said Sansthan Trust which is a public Trust and is a custodian of public money and properties would have saved a huge amount of public money spent on unnecessary litigations.”
The court also passed the following directions:
1. The state government notification of the appointment of 2021 is quashed and set aside.
2. The State government should form a new trust in accordance with the provision of the Act within 8 weeks.
3. Till the appointment is made by the state government the trust will be supervised by the Principal Distrust Judge, Collector of Ahmednagar, and Chief Executive Officer of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust Shirdi
4. The Ad-hoc committee is not allowed to take any major final decision without the permission of the court.
Case Title: Uttamrao Rambhaji Shelke vs State of Maharashtra and Ors
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