Indian Trusts Act, 1882

The landlady sought eviction of the tenants under Section 21(1)(a) of the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972, claiming she needed the premises to run tuition classes to augment her meagre pension. The prescribed authority rejected the application, but the appellate authority and t…

The Nizam's Jewellery Trust, created by the late Nizam of Hyderabad, authorized its trustees to sell jewellery at their discretion after a three‑year period. In 1978 the Board of Trustees resolved to sell 37 items, but only four of the five trustees opened the tenders and purportedly accepted bids without the Chairman’…

The case concerned the grant of probate of a 1999 will of Smt. Priyamvada Devi Birla (PDB) and earlier 1982 mutual wills executed by her and her husband. Several members of the Birla family filed caveats claiming a "caveatable interest" in the estate, while Rajendra Singh Lodha (RSL) sought probate and the discharge of…

The Supreme Court examined whether Section 4(1) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 could be applied to suits, claims or actions that were filed before the Act came into force, seeking to enforce rights over benami‑held property. The petitioners argued that the proceedings, initiated under the law then i…

Krishna Gopal Kakani, who had deposited a small margin for letters of credit with Bank of Baroda, sought the refund of surplus proceeds after the bank’s goods were auctioned and the sale proceeds were deposited with the court. After numerous notices, a failed adjustment proposal, and a dismissed writ petition, Kakani f…

The Official Trustee of Tamil Nadu, acting as trustee of a marriage hall trust, demolished the existing building and planned a new construction after an architect’s report recommended demolition, but without obtaining a fresh High Court order beyond the earlier sanction for roof conversion costing Rs 6 lakhs. The High …

Associated Power Co. Ltd., an electricity generation and distribution company, appropriated Rs 46,460 to a Contingency Reserve as required by the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and claimed it as a deduction for the assessment year 1973‑74. The Income Tax Officer rejected the claim; the Appellate Assistant Commissioner …

The parties entered into a ten‑year tenancy agreement for godowns that contained an arbitration clause. When the lease expired, the landlord sought possession and invoked the arbitration clause, appointing an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The tenant appealed, arguing that th…

The appeal concerned four acres of government land that had been granted to four temples for the purpose of generating income for poojas and temple maintenance. The descendants of the original poojari obtained hereditary trustee status under Section 63(b) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&…

The appellants, managers of an establishment exempted from the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme 1952 under Section 17, failed to make provident‑fund contributions to their own trust in 1974. The Provident Fund Inspector filed criminal complaints under Sections 14(1A), 14(2) and 14(2A) of the Employees' Provident Funds…

The dispute concerned a property waqfed in 1940 by Swami Satya Dev to Respondent No.2 (Prachaarini Sabha) for the purpose of promoting Hindi language, establishing a library and other charitable activities, subject to conditions prohibiting sale or mortgage. The appellants, interested in ensuring the purpose of the waq…

The Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs was incorporated on 4 January 2002 and subsequently published lists of wakf properties on 13 November 2003 and 30 December 2004. Several Muslim public trusts challenged the Board’s constitution, the validity of the lists, and the applicability of Section 13(2) of the Wakf Act, 1995,…

The respondents, former members of a Joint Hindu Family, received specific assets and certain family debts after a partition ordered by an arbitrator's award. They claimed that interest paid on these debts, especially to unsecured creditors, should be deductible as a diversion of income by an overriding title under the…

The Nizam created a trust to fund his Haj pilgrimage and related religious activities abroad; after his death the trust became a public charitable and religious trust. Government restrictions prevented sending money overseas, so the trustees resolved to spend the trust's income within India and obtained an order under …

The Supreme Court examined a family‑run private company where the board had broadened capital by issuing 15,000 new equity shares, allocating 6,475 to the appellants and reserving 8,000 for the late chairman. The petitioner, a class‑I heir, claimed entitlement to the 8,000 shares and alleged oppression and mismanagemen…

The appellant, the idol of Sri Renganathaswamy, challenged a suit filed by the Anandhana Trust seeking civil‑court permission to sell a portion of a property that had been endowed for charitable activities associated with the deity. The central question was whether the 1901 Deed of Settlement created a ‘specific endowm…

The dispute concerned six acres of land belonging to the Maruti Dev Temple, which had been let out to tenants who, on Tillers' Day (1 April 1957), became deemed purchasers under Section 32 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. The temple trust was registered as a public trust under the Bombay Public T…

Anita Merchant booked three flats from Suneja Towers Private Limited, paid 60% of the price, but the builder failed to deliver possession even after the agreed period, leading her to file consumer complaints. The District Forum dismissed the complaints, but the State Consumer Commission reversed the decision, ordering …

The Committee of Management of Pachaiyappa's Trust (the appellant) challenged a lease of a 5.65‑ground plot vested in the Official Trustee of Madras that had been granted to a partnership (respondent No.2) for a 30‑year term. The High Court, exercising its supervisory jurisdiction under Section 25 of the Official Trust…

The plaintiffs, permanent Mirasi tenants, mortgaged their half‑share of Paragana Watan lands to the defendants in 1947. After the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950 abolished the watans, the defendants (or their heirs) paid the occupancy price and obtained a grant of the entire land from the Pran…

The case concerned a suit land that was a Paragana watan property leased to a permanent Mirashi tenant, Ramchandra, who mortgaged the land in 1947. The Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950 later resumed the land to the Government, but the tenant's lease subsisted under the proviso to Section 3(3) a…

The Supreme Court examined two tax disputes. In Commissioner of Income Tax, Kanpur v. Kamla Town Trust, a trust created in 1941 for workers’ housing was rectified in 1945 and 1955; the Court held that the 1945 deed did not create a public charitable trust, denying exemption for 1949‑55, but the 1955 deed had wholly cha…

The Supreme Court of India addressed two interconnected issues: whether landlord-tenant disputes governed by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 are arbitrable, and the scope of judicial review under Sections 8 and 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The case arose from a tenancy agreement containing an ar…

The appellant, C. Gangacharan, sent money from abroad to the respondent, C. Narayanan, to purchase immovable property in the appellant's name, but the respondent bought the property in his own name and that of his brothers. The appellant filed a suit for possession in 1983, which was decreed in 1985. While execution wa…

The vendor, a life tenant of a property, entered into a sale agreement with HPA International to sell his life interest and the reversionary interest of the remaindermen, subject to obtaining a High Court sanction. The sanction suit was opposed by the reversioners and, after two years of delay, the vendor served a noti…

The case concerned a pension fund set up as a trust by Mis Dunlop India Ltd. After the beneficiaries had been paid, the trustees applied to the Calcutta High Court under Section 34 of the Indian Trusts Act seeking a direction on the surplus fund. The High Court refused to entertain the application, holding that Section…

Canbank Financial Services engaged a share broker (Respondent No.2) to sell 10 lakh shares of Reliance Petro Chemicals Ltd. The broker received Rs. 2.90 crores as sale proceeds but failed to remit the amount to the appellant. The broker was later notified under Section 3 of the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating…

The Haryana Government issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to acquire land for an industrial township, after which many landholders sold their land to private builders at inflated prices. The State later dropped the acquisition on 24 August 2007 and again on 29 January 2010, allegedly to benefit …

The appellant, a permanent trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, alleged that the other trustees and the deceased managing trustee misappropriated trust assets and were guilty of non‑feasance and mal‑feasance. An application under Section 41D of the Bombay Public Trust Act was filed before the Joint Cha…

The Supreme Court examined a contract where the plaintiff advanced Rs 75,000 to a claimant of Nawab Salar Jung’s estate in return for a one‑anna share of the proceeds, with the understanding that the plaintiff would use his influence over government ministers to secure the claimant’s recognition as heir. The trial and …

The plaintiff sought specific performance of a sale agreement entered into by the trustees of the Subbaiah Paniker Family Welfare Trust. The appellant, a beneficiary of the trust, applied to be impleaded as a defendant, alleging prejudice if the sale proceeded at the agreed price. The trial court allowed his impleadmen…

M. Mitra transferred his publishing and printing businesses to two newly formed companies in 1953. He instructed that the shares be allotted to his wife, three sons, brother‑in‑law and an ex‑employee, but the consideration for the shares was paid entirely by Mitra. After Mitra's death in 1957, the estate duty return fi…

The appellant, a liaison for a private university, was issued a cheque of Rs.5 crore by the respondent, who was the Chairman and authorized signatory of Orion Education Trust, but the cheque was dishonoured. The appellant filed a criminal complaint under Sections 138 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and …

The appellant, Commissioner of Wealth Tax, challenged the assessee P. K. Banerjee's claim that his right to receive the net income of a family trust fund was an annuity exempt under section 2(e)(iv) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. The trust, created by Banerjee's father in 1937 and modified in 1950, paid the net income of…

The appellant, a male descendant of the original founder trustee, sought declaration that he was entitled to the office of founder trustee of M/s. P.S. Govindaswamy Naidu & Sons’ Charities, asserting that he satisfied the residence requirement under the Scheme of Administration. The respondents contended that his U.S. …

The appellant mortgagee had taken a usufructuary mortgage on a property in 1948, allowing the mortgagor to remain in possession as a tenant. When the mortgagor defaulted on rent, the mortgagee obtained a money decree for arrears of rent and, in execution, purchased the property at a public auction without instituting a…

The hereditary trustees of six Hindu temples filed a petition under the Indian Trusts Act seeking permission to sell temple properties, which was rejected by the District Court and initially dismissed by the High Court. The High Court later allowed a review and permitted the sale, but the Commissioner under the Tamil N…

A trust was created by Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, including a large house. Two officers of the trust, together with a trustee (the settlor's son) and his wife, were alleged to have forged tenancy documents in favor of the wife, constituting a breach of trust. A complaint was filed and the accused were charged under I…

The Vellore Electric Corporation Ltd., a licensee under the Electricity Supply Act, claimed deductions for amounts transferred to its Contingencies, Development and Tariffs‑and‑Dividend Control reserves for assessment years 1967‑68 to 1970‑71, and also sought relief under Section 80‑1 for interest earned on securities …

The appellant purchased a suit‑property from the vendors by a sale deed executed on 9 September 1970 and registered it on 26 October 1970. Before the registration, the respondent filed a money suit on 13 September 1970 and obtained attachment before judgment of the property on 17 September 1970, later obtaining a decre…

The Supreme Court examined a dispute over property dedicated as a Dharmachatram (choultry) by a Hindu donor in 1805. The plaintiffs claimed occupancy as trustees, while the defendants asserted title obtained through a court sale. The Court held that such dedication creates a charitable endowment, not a trust, and there…

The appellants, a trust operating a hall on land allotted by the Cochin Devaswom Board, challenged the Board's unilateral increase of the annual licence fee from Rs.227.25 to Rs.1,50,000 and the subsequent demand for arrears. The High Court upheld the fee increase but, beyond the scope of the writ petition, directed th…

The appellant, a public‑spirit organization, challenged the State of Madhya Pradesh's reservation and allotment of 20 acres of Nazul land to the Shri Kushabhau Thakre Memorial Trust (later respondent No.5) on the ground that the process violated Article 14 of the Constitution. The land was allotted without any public a…

The case concerned a 19th‑century grant of six bighas of land in Jaipur as “Udak Jagir” to Swami Ram Ballabh, a disciple of the Ram Sanehi sect. The tenants of the present holder challenged the grant, arguing it was made to a religious institution or as a public trust, and sought exemption under the Rajasthan Land Refo…

Canara Bank, as the principal trustee of Canara Bank Mutual Fund, purchased NTPC bonds from a bank that later went into liquidation and sought registration of the bonds in the trustee's name and payment of redemption proceeds. NTPC refused registration without a no‑objection certificate from the liquidator and later at…

The dispute concerned the interpretation of the H.E.H. Nizam's Jewellery Trust deed, incorporated by the Nizam's Trust Deeds (Validation) Act, 1950, particularly clauses dealing with the "Remaining Sons' Fund" and "Remaining Daughters' Fund". Original petitions under Sections 56 and 61 of the Indian Trusts Act were fil…

Operation Asha, a not‑for‑profit society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, provides health services to the under‑privileged. After the society’s CEO terminated co‑founder Dr. Shelly Batra, she and her mother filed a suit under Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure alleging financial impropriety…

The Supreme Court examined a batch of appeals challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order that set aside the approval of a resolution plan for Appu Hotels Ltd. The Court held that the resolution applicant, M.K. Rajagopalan, was ineligible to submit a plan because he was the managing trustee …