Missed dates

Two important court dates concerning the community passed by without the case appearing on the Bombay High Court roster for hearing. The World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ) petition regarding the ouster of the four Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees who resigned from office and subsequently withdrew their resignation and the holding of election by adult franchise was scheduled for July 25, 2007. But the matter did not appear on the board of the divisional bench of Bombay High Court justices R. M. Khandeparkar and D. G. Karnik. No other date has been specified.

The originating summons regarding use of the Doongerwadi bunglis for those opting for alternate means of disposal to dakhmenashini scheduled for July 9, 2007 was unheralded posted for July 31. That date also passed.

In this case the BPP is expected to oppose the petition on the basis of the subject requiring a full fledged case with witnesses being called to give evidence. Hence an originating summons is not considered an appropriate forum for deciding the issue.

In the election petition, WAPIZ states the four trustees who resigned cannot withdraw their resignation and that the holding of election under adult franchise cannot be permitted as the four trustees were party to the electoral amendment while their legal status was in question.

The WAPIZ strategy is to hold the elections with the new Anjuman Committee elected earlier this year. But as The Bombay Samachar columnist and noted solicitor Berjis Desai noted in his "Parsi Tari Arsi” column of July 15, 2007, titled "WAPIZ is like a turkey wishing for Christmas”: "It is as simple as daylight that if WAPIZ is successful in getting Justice Khanvilkar’s order set aside on the ground that the election petition filed by the trustees including the Famous Four was not maintainable as the Famous Four had ceased to be trustees at the time of filing the petition, then the entire process of declaring and holding elections and constituting the 2007 new Anjuman Committee, by the trustees which included the Famous Four, would also not survive for the same technical reason! In other words, if the universal adult franchise order goes out of the window, it will take with it WAPIZ’s favorite Anjuman Committee of 2007 and elections would then be held by the earlier Anjuman Committee which was elected almost 14 years ago...

"As a matter of fact, this could be an unmitigated disaster for WAPIZ, since this is the same Anjuman Committee which has given thumping victory to Dinshaw Tamboly and Maneck Engineer and has defeated WAPIZ’s candidates like Yazdi Desai, Mehroo Benga­lee, Hoshang Wania and their one time friend Rustom Tirandaz!”