Supreme Court of India
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHERversusRAGINI NARAYAN AND ANOTHER
- Citation
- 2016 INSC 891
- Decided
- 20 September 2016
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- RANJAN GOGOI
Holding
The 1994 amendment was duly approved by the State Government, and the plaintiff, being the donor’s wife at his death, validly succeeded as Donor Trustee; the appeal is dismissed.
Summary
The case concerned a declaration suit filed by Ragini Narayan seeking to be recognized as the Donor Trustee of the B.M.S. Educational Trust after the death of her husband, the original Donor Trustee B.S. Narayan. The dispute centered on a 1994 amendment to the trust deed that provided for succession by the senior most lineal descendant, a family member, or the donor's wife, and on whether this amendment had the requisite approval of the Karnataka Government. The Supreme Court examined documents showing the Government’s approval of the amendment and applied Section 47 of the Registration Act, 1908, to deem the amendment operative from its date of execution. It held that the amendment was valid, the plaintiff was the donor’s wife at his death, and therefore she succeeded as Donor Trustee. Consequently, the appeal by the State Government and its nominee was dismissed.
Issues considered
- Whether the 1994 amendment to the trust deed was approved by the State Government and thus operative.
- Whether the plaintiff, as the wife of the original Donor Trustee, is validly entitled to succeed as Donor Trustee under the amended deed.
- Whether the State Government's appointment of its nominee as Donor Trustee overrides the plaintiff's claim.
- Interpretation of Section 47 of the Registration Act, 1908, regarding the operative date of a registered document.
Legislation cited
Subjects
trust deed amendmentdonor trusteesuccessionstate government approvalregistration actdeclaration suittrust law
Judgment
[2016] 8 S.C.R. 790
A PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT
OF KARNATAKA AND ANOTHER
v.
RAGINI NARAYAN AND ANOTHER
(Civil Appeal No. 8895 of2012)
B
SEPTEMBER 20, 2016
[RANJAN GOGOi AND PRAFULLA C. PANT, JJ.] ·
Trust: Appointment of Donor Trustee - Respondent-Plaintiff's
husband was the original Donor Trustee - Original Trust Deed
c amended in 1994, registered on 30.01.1995, provided that after
the life time of respondent's husband, either his senior most lineal
descendant or a member of his family nomin(lted by him or his wife,
shall be the Donor Trustee - Suit by Respondent, relying on this
amendment, for a declaration that she is the Donor Trustee of the
D Trust after the death of her husband - Appellant-State government
and respondent No.2 (States appointee as Donor Trustee)
contended that the said amendment being without the approval of
the State Government is inoperative - Trial Court decreed suit in
favour of respondent - High Court upheld the decree passed by
Trial Court - On appeal, held: There was approval of the State
E Government to the 1994 Amendment in terms of documents relied
on by the appellant-State govt. and respondent No.2 itself- Further,
the 1994 amendment mentioned that after the lifetime of respondent's
husband, either his senior most lineal descendant or a member of
his family or his wife was to succeed, and if this mode of succession
F fails, then the State Government were to exercise the powers of
Donor Trustee - The mode of succession did not fail as at the time
of death of original Donor Trustee, respondent was his wife and
thus was validly nominated as Donor Trustee.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
G HELD: 1.1 Though on behalf of the appellants and the
Respondent no.2, it is contended that the State Government had
not given any approval to the 1994 amendment relied upon on
behalf of the plaintiff, but certain documents on record clearly
show that there was approval of the State Government to the
H disputed amendment of 1994. One of such documents is filed by
790
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 791
RAGIN! NARAYAN '
the Respondent No.2 with the additional documents, which is A
copy of the 'Deed of Appointment' of the Government of
Karnataka as successor Donor Trustee of executant BSN
(Respondent-Plaintiff's husband). The appellants cannot
approbate and reprobate at the same time. On one hand they
rely on this document to nominate Respondent No.2, and appoint B
him as Donor Trustee, and on the other hand, they are not ready
to accept the approval of State Government to the Amendment
Deed registered on 30.01.1995 on the basis of which the
executant (Respondent-Plaintiff's husband) has exercised the
powers in nominating the Donor Trustee. [Para 16)(799-C-F]
1.2 Another important document throwing light on this C
point is copy of the lette.r issued by the Government of Karnataka
to the Member Secretary of RM.S. Trust, Bangalore appointing
Respondent No.2 as Donor Trustee. From this letter, it is clear
that Deed of Appointment dated 13.08.1995 was referred by the
State Government, and it cannot be said that the State Government D
had not approved the Resolution dated 10.12.1994 on the basis
of which Deed of Amendment was registered on 30.01.1995.
[Paras 17 and 18)(800-B-C; 801-C]
2.1 By amendment of 1994, it was mentioned that after the
life time of respondent-plaintiff's husband, his senior most lineal E
descendant or a member of his family or his wife was to succeed,
and if mode of succession fails, then powers of Donor Trustee
were to be exercised by the State Government. [Para 18)(801-F-
G]
2.2 There is concurrent finding of fact of the courts below F
that respondent-plaintiff was the wife of BSN Donor Trustee, at
the time of his death, as such the mode of succession mentioned
in para (IV)(i) did not fail. Whether it is amendment of 1978 or
1995 the expression "or his wife" is there. The words-'or his
wife' in the amendment of 1978 to which the appellants admittedly
approved refer to wife of the Donor Trustee. Same expression is G
retained in the 30.01.1995 amendment. The amendment of 1978
was, admittedly, approved by the State of Karnataka. Insofar as
the amendment of 1994 is concerned, it has already been held
that in view of the letter of the State Government dated 7.11.1995
the consent of the State Government to the amendment of 1994 H
792 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 8 S.C.R.
A can be readily inferred. Therefore, no error is found in the
impugned order passed by the High Court.[Para 19][801-G-H;
802-A-B]
. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 8895
of2012.
B From the Judgment and Order dated 24.03.2010 of the High Court
ofKarnataka, in RFA No. 788 of2009.
K. K. Venugopal, Sr. Adv, Gopal Sankarnarayanan, V. N.
Raghupathy, Parikshit P. Angadi, Advs. for the Appellants.
C. A. Sundaram, K. V. Viswanathan, S. Ganesh, P. Vishwanatha
c Shetty, Sr. Ad vs., Srinivas Rao, Badri Vishal, Ms. Pritha Srikumar, Sharad
Bansal, Ms. Rohini Musa, Abhishek Gupta, Zafar Innayat, Abhishek
Kaushik, Mann Nair, Ishan Gaur, S. S. Shroff, Jagadeesh C. K, Sharan
Thakur, Vijay Kumar Paradeshi, Mahesh Thakur, Ramesh Babu M. R.,
Advs. for the Respondents.
D The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
PRAFULLA C. PANT, J. I. This appeal is directed against
judgment and order dated 24.03.2010, passed by the High Court of
Karnataka at Bangalore in R.F.A. No. 788 of2009 (DEC-INJ), whereby
said Court has dismissed the appeal. The appeal before the High Court
E had arisen out of the decree passed by the XXVII Additional City Civil
Judge, Bangalore, in 0.S. No. 2680 of2000, whereby the suit seeking
declaration that the plaintiff is Donor Trustee, was decreed by the trial
court in her favour.
2. Brief facts of the case are that the plaintiff (Respondent No. 1
F herein) Ragini Narayan filed a suit for declaration that after death of her
husband, she is the Donor Trustee of B.M. Sreenivasaiah Educational
Trust, Bangalore (for short "BMS Trust"). It is not disputed that late
Shri B.M. Sreenivasaiah, a philanthropist, started BMS College of
Engineering in the year 1946. After his death it was his son B.S. Narayan,
who was running the institution. In 1957, the institution was transferred
G to BMS Trust by B.S. Narayan (since died). The then Government of
Mysore (now Government ofKarnataka) extended financial assistance
to the Trust to clear its encumbrances, and agreed to establish the BMS
College for Women by the Trust. It is stated that the appellant/
Government of Karnataka gave grant-in-aid for the three colleges run
H by the Trust.
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 793
RAGIN! NARAYAN [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.)
3. The plaintiff's case is that she is legally wedded wife of B.S. A
Narayan (the original Donor Trustee) as she got married to him on
21.05.1984, after he divorced his first wife, namely, Smt. Minnie Narayan.
It is pleaded thatthe plaintiff continued to live as his wife till his death on
23.08.1995. It is further pleaded that vide Trust Deed dated 02.12.1957,
Dharmaprakasha Rajakaryasakta B.M. Sreenivasaiah Educational Trust
8
was created by B.S. Narayan, his mother and step mother by transferring
properties worth Rs.5000 crores. The Council ofTrustees consisted of
five members (trustees) with B.S. Narayan as a Donor Trustee. In
terms of the Trust Deed B.S. Narayan and all his successors had the
right to appoint three of the trustees while the remaining one trustee was
to be appointed/nominated by the Government ofKarnataka (defendant C
No 2/appellant herein).
4. The Council of Trustees in the presence of the then Chief
Minister, in its meeting dated 12.10.1978 resolved to amend the Trust
Deed allowing B.S. Narayan to nominate any person as Donor Trustee
for 1ife time and also provided for succession to the Donor Trustee. The D
State Government (appellant) approved said amendment vide
communication dated 25.09.1979 and supplementary Trust Deed was
executed on 25 .06.1981, but the amendment regarding succession to the
Donor Trusteeship was not carried out.
5. Dispute starts from the year 1994. On 10.12.1994 in another E
meeting of Council of Trustees, a resolution was passed to amend the
Trust Deed to give effect to the succession to Donor Trusteeship, with
certain changes from the earlier resolution mentioned in preceding para.
In the light of the amendment made in 1994, a Deed dated 30.01.1995
was registered providing that after the life time of B.S. Narayan, his
senior most lineal descendant or a member of his family, nominated by F
him or his wife, shall be the Donor Trustee. It is pleaded by the plaintiff
that B.S. Narayan, exercising powers under clause JV( iv) of the Trust
Deed, vi de document dated 16.01.1995, nominated the plaintiff to be the
Donor Trustee in his place with effect from 16.01.1995. The plaintiff
has further pleaded that B.S. Narayan never revoked said delegation till G
his death. The document dated 30.01.1995 further provided that after
death of B. S. Narayan his wife shall be the Donor Trustee under the
Trust Deed.
6. Admittedly, B.S. Narayan died on 23.08.1995 in Workhardt
H
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 8 S.C.R.
A Hospital where he was und~rgoing treatment for cancer of colon. B.S.
Narayan died issue less leaving behind his mother Smt. Laxmamma and
the plaintiff. Claiming herself to be the Donor Trustee after the death of
her husband, the plaintiff wrote letter dated 28.08.1995 to Shri Y.
Ramachandra, Chairman of the Trust. Prof. P. V. Bhandari, who was
B the Government nominee/trustee, forwarded the letter of the plaintiff to
the Government. Vide letter dated 30.09.1995, the plaintiff sought
cooperation of the State Government in discharging functions by her as
a Donor Trustee. However, there was no response from the Government
and in the meanwhile .Y. Ramachandra, Chairman of the Trust appears
to have written a letter dated 15 .09.1995 requesting the State
C Government to take over the Trust. It appears that the appellants
appointed M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy (respondent No. 2 herein) as Donor
Trusteevide communication dated 07.11.1995.
7. Communication dated 07 .11.1995, issued on behalf of the
appellants appointing Respondent No. 2 as Donor Trustee, was challenged
D by the plaintiffRagini Narayan in Writ Petition .No. 40933of1995 which
was disposed of by the High Court leaving the plaintiff to avail the remedy
available before the Civil Court, and a Committee of Chairman and
Trustees appointed by the court was directed to manage the affairs of
the Trust, in the meantime. Consequently the suit was filed.
E 8. Apart from the appellants, Respondent No. 2 (defendant No.
3 before the civil court) contested the suit. He filed his separate written
statement. The pleas taken by him are in substance the same as raised
by the appellants (defendant Nos. I and 2). It is pleaded by the defendants
that under proviso to clause VI (xii) of the Trust Deed approval of the
F State Government was necessary for any amendment in the Trust Deed.
It is further pleaded that as per original clause (IV)( 1) B.S. Narayan,
the designated original Donor Trustee was to hold the office during his
life time, whereafter his senior most lineal descendants were to succeed
as Donor Trustee. And in absence of any lineal descendant trustee, the
nominee of State Government was to act as Donor Trustee. The case
G of the defendants is that the State Government had given its approval to
the amendment dated 12.10.1978 in respect of para IV(iv) of the Trust
Deed which was incorporated in the supplementary Trust Deed dated
25.06)9.81. It is further stated that insofar as proposed amendment to
clause (IV)(!) is concerned, since B.S. Narayan himself withheld
nomination of his first wife Minnie Narayan as Donor Trustee after his
H
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 795
RAGIN! NARAYAN [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.]
death, as such, said amendment did not form part of the supplementary A
Trust Deed dated 25.06.1981. It is stated on behalf of the appellants
and Respondent No. 2 that the Council of Trustees had no authority to
amend the original Trust Deed without the consent of the Government
ofKarnataka. As such, the amendment dated 10.12.1994 registered on
30.01.1995 relied on behalf of the plaintiff, being without the approval of B
the State Government, is inoperative. Even otherwise as per the
amendment of 1995, the power to delegate the powers of Donor Trustee
was to be exercised for a limited period i.e. during life time of B.S.
Narayan, and the plaintiff as the wife of B.S. Narayan has no right to
continue as Donor Trustee after the death of her husband.
9. The trial court, as well as the High Court, has decided the issue C
as to the validity of marriage of the plaintiff with B.S. Narayan in her
favour. Both the courts have also found that B.S. Narayan had an
authority to nominate his wife, and that the delegation of powers of
Donor Trustee in favour of the plaintiff suffers from no illegality. The
High Court has upheld the decree passed by the trial court in favour of D
the plaintiff. Hence this appeal through special leave.
10. Before further discussion, we think it necessary to reproduce
relevant paras from the original Trust Deed 02.12.1957: -
"IV(i) The management of "THE TRUST" shall vest in
"THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES" consisting of five E
members. Sri B.S. Narayan "DONOR" hereto during
his life time shall be a member of the council oftrustees;
and after him the successive senior most lineal
descendant of the said donor (1) shall be one such trustee
and shall have the powers and rights of donor" 1" under F
these paras. If this mode of succession fails all the
powers exercisable by the Donor (I) under terms of
this deed, including powers of appointment of trustees
under this deed, shall vest with the Government of
Mysore."
G
"IV(iv) For the purposes of sub para (i) of clause IV supra
Donor (1) shall have the power ofnominating in his place
or any person for such period or periods as may be
specified or forthe life time of such member, to exercise
H
796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 8 S.C.R.
A all or any of the powers vested in Donor (I) under this
deed as may be delegated and such nominee shall subject
to the foregoing be deemed to be donor (I) within the
meaning of the Deed."
B
"VI(xii) Notwithstanding anything contained in these presents
"The Trustees" shall have power to alter, amend or to
add to any of the clauses of this document consistent
with the objects and purposes of "The Trust". "The
Trustees" shall have power to negotiate, conclude and
c effectuate such agreements with Government State or
Union, local bodies or other authorities or bodies for
purposes of obtaining financial and/or technical aid in
any form as they deem fit on such conditions as may
appear fit to them, for furtherance of the purposes of
the institutions created under "The Trust" and for that
D
purpose shall have power to include or to co-opt further
trustee or trustees; to cede or curtail or transfer all or
any such power to any government of body, as may be
found fit and proper and to effect such alterations in the
clauses of this deed, not inconsistent with the objects
E and purposes of "The Trust" as in their opinion may
appear necessary and desirable.
Provided that any resolution of"The Trustees" touching
the alteration of this deed or amending of any of its clauses
shall not be operative unless concurred to by donor "I" and
F approved by the Government of Mysore."
(emphasis supplied)
G 11. Now, we come to the relevant amendments in the Trust Deed,
including the one dated I 0.12.1994 relied by the plaintiff but disputed by
the appellants and Respondent No. 2. The table showing clause (IV) (i)
as it existed in original deed, the one after 1978 amendment, and disputed
amendment of 1994 (registered on 30.01.1995) are shown below:
H
PRlNCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 797
RAGINI NARAYAN [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.]
A
ORIGIXAL DEED A:\!L'\l)~IL'\'TS A.\IL'\l)ME:".'T
DATED 2112157 APPROVEDL'" 1978 REGISTERED ON
30/0lfl99S
The management of ·rnemanagemcntof The management of
"THE TR.UST' shall "THE TR.UST' shall "THE TRUST' shall vest
,·est in the "COUNCil. vest in th.c ~coUNCil. in the "COUNCil. of B
OF TRUSTEES" of TRUSTEES" TRUSTEES" consisting
consisting offtvc consisting of five offivc membCIS. Sri B.S.
members. Sri B.S. members. Sri B.S. Narayan "DONOR"
Narayan "DONOR" Narayan "DONOR" hereto during his life time
hereto during his life hereto during his life shall be a member and
time shall be a member time shall be amember thereafter the successive c
of the Council of of the Council of senior-most lineal
Trustees; and after him Trustees and after him, descendant of the said
the successive senior- his wife Minnie Narayan donor (1) or a member of
most lineal descendant and there-after the the family naninated by
of the said donor(l) successive senior-most donor (I) or his wife shall
shall be one such lineal descendant of the be one such trustee and D
trustee and shall have said donor (I) or a shall have the powers and
the powers and righis of member ofthe family rights of donor (l)under
donor (1) under these nominated by doncr (I) these presents. If this
presents. If this mode or his wife shall be one mode ofsuccession fails
of succcssiai fails all such trustee and shall all the powers exercisable
E
the powers exercisable have the powers and by the Donor(l)undcr
by the Donor(l)undcr rights of doncr(l)under terms of deed, including
terms of this deed, these presents. If this powers of appantmcnt of
includingpO\Y'C!S of mode of succession fails trustees under this deed.
appointment of trustees all the powers shall vest .,.,;th the
under this deed, shall exercisable bythe Dcmcr Government of F
vest with the (l)undertcrms of this Karnataka.
Government ofMys<l'C. deed, including powers
of appoinnncnt of
trustees under this deed,
shall vest with the
Government ofMyscrc. G
(emphasis supplied)
H
798 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016) 8 S.C.R.
A 12. It is clear from the record that in the year 1957 B.S. Narayan
was a bachelor. Later he got married to Minnie Narayan before 1978
amendment, and divorced her in I982. There is concurrent finding of
fact that B.S. Narayan got remarried in I984 to plaintiffRagini Narayan.
It is also relevant to mention here, that there is no dispute that amendments
B mooted by B.S. Narayan in I978 were approved by the State Government
(appellant No.2) vide communication dated 25.09. I979. It is argued by
Shri K. K. Venugopal, Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the
appellants and Shri S. Ganesh, Senior Advocate for respondent no.2 that
since there was no approval of the State Government to the amendment
of I994, as such it cannot be said that such an amendment was operative,
C or that B.S. Narayan could have acted under the amended para (IV)(i)
of the Deed to nominate the plaintiff (Ragini Narayan) as a Donor
Trustee. It is further submitted that without the aid of Resolution dated
I 0. I 2. I994 read with delegation of power made by B.S. Narayan in
favour of the plaintiff, she has no entitlement to discharge functions of
D the Donor Trustee. It is contended that the Deed of Nomination dated
!6.0l.1995 in favour ofRagini Narayan, allegedly executed by B.S.
Narayan is not a valid document. It is pointed out that the amended
deed based on Resolution dated 10.12.1994 was not registered, by the
date 16.01.1995 as the registration is said to have been done only on
30.01.1995. As such, delegation of power in favour of plaintiff on
E 16.0 I. I995 is not valid. It is vehemently argued that since the amendment
registered on 30.01. I 995 was a non-starter as such the same was non-
effective. Ragini Narayan, after the death of B.S. Narayan could not
have nominated herself as a Donor Trustee.
13. In reply to above, Shri C.A. Sundaram, learned senior counsel
F appearing for the plaintiff - Respondent no.I, pointed out that under
Section 47 of the Registration Act, I908, the document registered on a
subsequent date relates to the date of execution. It is further submitted
that since the date of Resolution was I0. I 2. I 994, as such there was no
impediment on the part of B.S. Narayan to exercise his powers under
the amended Para IV(i).
G
14. Section 47 of Registration Act, 1908 reads as under:
"47. Time from which registered document operates.
-A registered document shall operate from the time which
it would have commenced to operate if no registration thereof
had been required or made, and not from the time of its
H registration"
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 799
RAGINI NARAYAN [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.]
In view of the above provision oflaw, we are in agreement with A
the submission of learned counsel for the Respondent no. I that the
document registered on a subsequent date, operates from the date of
execution, not from the date ofregistration.
15. However, what is more required to be examined in the present
case is as to whether Resolution for amendment dated I 0.12.1994 had B
its approval from the State Government or not. We have already quoted
proviso to Para VI (xii) of the original Trust Deed which requires that
any alteration of the deed or amendment therein would require
concurrence of Donor Trustee and that of the State Government.
16. Though on behalf of the appellants and the Respondent no.2, C
it is contended that the State Government had not given any approval to
the amendment relied upon on behalfofthe plaintiff, but certain documents
on record clearly show that there was approval of the State Government
to the disputed amendment of 1994. One of such documents
(dated 13 .8.1995) is Annexure A-7 filed by the Respondent No.2 with
the additional documents, which is copy of the 'Deed of Appointment' D
of the Government of Karnataka as successor Donor Trustee of
executant B.S. Narayan. In our opinion, the appellants cannot approbate
and reprobate at the same time. On one hand they rely on this document
to nominate M.R. Srinivasa Murthy, and appoint him as Donor Trustee,
and on the other hand, they are not ready to accept the approval of State E
Government to the Amendment Deed registered on 30.01.1995 on the
basis of which the executant has exercised the powers in nominating the
Donor Trustee. Para 2 of Annexure A-7 i.e. 'Deed of Appointment'
dated 13.08.1995 executed by B.S. Narayan reads as under:
F
" ....... WHEREAS the above executant is the Donor
Trustee of a Registered Educational Trust, created under
document dated 02.12.1957 and registered as Document
No.2944/57-58 in Book I, Volume 48, pages 10 to 35,
registered in the Office of the Sub-Registrar, Bangalore
G
City South, and WHEREAS the above document created
the B.M.S. Educational Trust, which document was
subsequently amended once by registered document No.
498/81-82 dated 25.06.1981 and further amended by a
second document dated 30.01.1995 and registered as
H
800 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 8 S.C.R.
A document No.531/94-95. after following the formalities
required in regard to amendment, which included the
approval of the Government of the State ofKarnataka and
,,
··········
(emphasis supplied)
B 17. Another important document which throws light on this point
is Annexure.P-7 dated 7.11.1995 which is copy of the letter issued by
the Government ofKarnataka to the Member Secretary ofB.M.S. Trust,
Bangalore appointing M.R. Srinivasa Murthy, !AS, as Donor Trustee.
Said document is reproduced below:
c "GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
No.EDI08TEC95 Karnataka Government Secretariat,
Sachivalaya-11,
Bangalore, Dated: November 07, 1995
From:
D The Principal Secretary to Govt. of Karnataka,
Education Department, Bangalore.
To
The Member Secretary,
B.M. Srinivasaiah Educational Trust,
E Bangalore.
Sir
Sub: Acceptance of appointment as a Donor Trustee by the
Government ofKarnataka for B.M. Srinivasaiah Educational Trust.
Ref: I. Letter from Sri Y. Ramachandra, Chairman of the Trust,
F dtd.15.09.1995
2. Deed of Appointment dtd. 13.08.95 executed by the late
Donor Trustt;e Sri B.S. Narayan.
With reference to the above mentioned Communication/
G documents, the Government of Karnataka has accepted
the nomination as the Donor-Trustee ofB.M. Srinivasaiah
Educational Trust and is assuming the role of Donor-Trustee
with immediate effect. Sri M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy, IAS,
is hereby appointed to function as Donor-Trustee on behalf
H of the Government ofKarnataka with immediate effect.
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA v. 801
RAGINI NARAYAN [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.]
Please extend all co-operation to him and assist him in the discharge A
of his functions.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(U.P. SHARMA)
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT B
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT."
18. From the above mentioned Jetter, it is clear that Deed of
Appointment dated 13 .08.1995 was referred by the State Government,
and it cannot be said that the State Government had not approved the
Resolution dated I 0.12.1994 on the basis of which Deed ofAmendment C
was registered on 30.01.1995. That being so, now we have to examine
whether it is the plaintiff who was validly nominated Donor Trustee or
the State Government? From the para (IV)(i) of the original Trust Deed
dated 02.12.1957, it is clear that B.S. Narayan was to continue as Donor
Trustee during his life time whereafter he was to be succeeded by his D
lineal descendant, and ifthe mode of succession fails then, power of the
appointment of the Trust Deed was to vest with the State Government.
Amendment of 1978 as shown in the chart quoted earlier, makes it clear
that name of Minnie Narayan was added in para (IV)(i) as nominee to
succeed from B.S. Narayan, and thereafter senior most of the lineal
descendant, and if the mode of succession fail, the powers were to be E
exercised by the State Government. It appears that after Minnie Narayan
was divorced by B.S. Narayan, and he (8.S. Narayan) got married to
Ragini Narayan (plaintiff) whereafter further amendment was proposed
and passed through Resolution dated I 0.12.1994 (as mentioned in
amended deed registered on 30.01.1995) and by this amendment i.e. of F
1994 name of Minnie Narayan was deleted, and it was mentioned that
after the life time ofB.S. Narayan, his senior most lineal descendant or
a member of his family or his wife was to succeed, and if mode of
. succession fails, then powers of Donor Trustee were to be exercised by
the State Government.
G
I 9. There is concurrent finding of fact of the courts below that
Ragini Narayan was the wife of B.S. Narayan Donor Trustee, at the
time of his death, as such it cannot be said that mode of succession
mentioned in para (IV)(i) failed. Whether it is amendment of 1978 or
1995 the expression "or his wife" is there. In our opinion the words-' or
H
802 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 8 S.C.R.
A his wife' in the amendment of 1978 to which the appellants admittedly
approved refer to wife of the Donor Trustee. Same expression is retained
in the 30.01.1995 amendment. The amendment of 1978 was, admittedly,
approved by the State ofKarnataka. Insofar as the amendment of 1994
is concerned, we have already held that by virtue of Ex.A-7 dated
B 13.8.1995, the recital contained therein and in view of the letter of the
State Government dated 7.11.1995 the consent of the State Government
to the amendment of 1994 can be readily inferred. Therefore, we do not
find any error in the impugned order passed by the High Court. However,
we clarify that any nominee appointed by the State Government as
Trustee will be entitled to function as ordinary trustee in the Council of
C Trustees as provided in the Trust Deed but not as the Donor Trustee till
the succession as mentioned in the Trust Deed (as amended) fails.
20. For the reasons as discussed above, the appeal is dismissed.
D Divya Pandey Appeal dismissed.
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