Bombay High Court

SMT ASMA KHAN MAZHAR KHAN AND OTHERSversusJOINT CHARITY COMMISSIONER AND OTHERS

Disposal: DISPOSED OFF

Holding

The Court quashed and set aside the orders dated 16 July 2026 and 19 August 2026, granting the petitioners liberty to file a verified affidavit of examination‑in‑chief and a fresh application, subject to payment of costs.

Summary

The petitioners, members of the Kohinoor Education Society, were unable to appear before the Assistant Charity Commissioner in Inquiry No.382 of 2019 because they were remanded to judicial custody, which also prevented them from signing their affidavits and applications. The Commissioner rejected their request for adjournment and later passed orders of "no evidence" on 16 July 2026 and rejected a fresh application on 19 August 2026 on the ground that the documents were not verified or signed. The petitioners challenged these orders by filing a writ petition, contending that their inability to sign was due to their custody. The High Court examined whether a procedural defect—lack of verification and signature—could be cured despite the petitioners' custodial status. The Court held that the defect could be remedied by allowing the petitioners to file a verified affidavit of examination‑in‑chief and a fresh application with proper signatures, subject to costs. Consequently, both orders dated 16 July 2026 and 19 August 2026 were quashed and set aside, and the petitioners were directed to comply within stipulated time frames.

Issues considered

Whether the orders of "no evidence" and rejection of the petitioners' application can be set aside on the ground of lack of verification and signatures caused by the petitioners' custodial status.
Whether a procedural defect in the filing of affidavits and applications can be remedied by granting the petitioners a fresh opportunity to file verified documents.
Whether the petitioners should be liable to pay costs for the remedial proceedings.

Subjects

Charity law
Procedural defect
Verification of affidavit
Judicial custody
Writ petition
High Court
Adjournment
Costs

Judgment

2026:BHC-AUG:46707
                                                1                    10-WP.13545-26.odt


                          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                     BENCH AT AURANGABAD

                               10 WRIT PETITION NO. 13545 OF 2026

                           SMT ASMA KHAN MAZHAR KHAN AND OTHERS
                                           VERSUS
                           JOINT CHARITY COMMISSIONER AND OTHERS

                                                   ...
                           Advocate for the Petitioners : Mr. Siddiqui Sohel E
                             AGP for Respondent/s-State : Ms. D. S. Jape.
                                                   ...

                                          CORAM : MANJUSHA A. DESHPANDE, J.
                                          DATE : 05.10.2026

                     PER COURT :-


                     1.   The petitioners are challenging the orders dated

                     16.07.2026 and 19.08.2026. The petitioners are party to the

                     Inquiry No.382 of 2019 pending before the Assistant Charity

                     Commissioner, Aurangabad.


                     2.   It is the contention of the petitioners that, during the

                     pendency of Inquiry No.382 of 2019, some civil and criminal

                     cases were filed by respondent No.3 and others against the

                     Management     of   Kohinoor   Education    Society    including

                     petitioner and respondent Nos.4 to 6. The petitioners and

                     respondent No.4 were remanded to MCR by the JMFC Court.

                     Therefore, the petitioners were not in a position to lead

                     evidence in the matter. Since they were in MCR, they could

                     not lead evidence in Inquiry No.382 of 2019. Due to their
                            2                    10-WP.13545-26.odt


unavailability in the pending cases against them, they have

informed their advocate to seek an adjournment in the matter.

The Assistant Charity Commissioner rejected their request on

16.07.2026, observing that, they have failed to appear to give

their evidence and verify their affidavit-in-chief. Against this

order, the petitioners have filed an application to set aside and

recall the order of no evidence dated 16.07.2026. According to

the learned advocate even this application was rejected on

19.08.2026 by observing that, the signature of the petitioners

were not affixed on the application and the said application

was not verified. It is the contention of the petitioners that,

because of the order of MCR passed against them, they were in

custody, therefore, they could not remain present and could

not affix their signatures on both the applications. On this

background, the order passed on 19.08.2026 on their

application below Exh.80 as well as the order passed below

Exh.75 dated 16.07.2026 needs to be set aside.


3.    I have heard the learned advocate for the petitioners and

learned AGP appearing for the respondents/State. Considering

the technical defect, it is appropriate to grant liberty to the

petitioners to file a fresh application. Both orders are based on

the same ground, wherein it is observed that, there is no
                           3                    10-WP.13545-26.odt


verification to the application as well as affidavit of

examination-in-chief. The order dated 16.07.2026 holds that

the examination-in-chief of the petitioners is not verified and

therefore, the order of “no evidence” came to be passed against

them. Similarly, the order dated 19.08.2026 has been passed

holding that, the application as well as verification on

application does not bear the signature of the petitioners.

Therefore, even that application has been rejected.


4.    Considering the ground on which, the orders have been

passed, in my view, the defect can be remedied by affording

one chance to the petitioners to file appropriate affidavit of

examination-in-chief with verification and also filed fresh

application for setting aside the order dated 16.07.2026 by

following proper procedure along with proper signatures and

verification subject to payment of costs of Rs.10,000/- to the

respondents. The petitioners shall file an affidavit of

examination-in-chief within a period of two (2) weeks from the

date of this order and file appropriate application for setting

aside the order dated 16.07.2026 along with verification and

appropriate signatures within a period of one (1) week

thereafter.
                             4                    10-WP.13545-26.odt


5.      Both the orders dated 16.07.2026 below Exh.75 and

19.08.2026 below Exh.80 are quashed and set aside.


6.      The petitioners shall deposit costs within a period of one

(1) week from the date of this order before the Assistant

Charity Commissioner.


7.      Writ Petition stands disposed of accordingly.




                                 (MANJUSHA A. DESHPANDE, J.)

                                  ...

vmk/-

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