Aspandiar Baug project

Tehmasp K. Bharucha, chairman of the Poona Parsee Panchayat (PPP), in a letter dated September 29, 2008, informed all applicants that the joint charity commissioner has, on September 18, 2008 revoked the orders passed by his predecessor granting permission for the proposed Aspandiar Baug project on the south side of Survey No 603 below the Anjuman Dakhma at Lullanagar. This is the outcome of MA No 21/08 filed by Eruch Irani before the joint charity commissioner, Poona, against the PPP through its trustees. Bharucha writes that the trustees plan to file an appeal or writ petition before the High Court on this order, after obtaining certified copies.

Reacting to this missive, Poona resident Roshan R. Ginwalla wrote to Bharucha drawing the trustees’ attention to Charity Commissioner, Maha­rashtra State vs. SLC Foundation Trust, AIR 1990 Bom 189 which stated that considering the provisions of Sections 30 and 50 of the Act, "though the order of the charity commissioner is not made expressionally final, no appeal or revision having been provided against any such order by the charity commissioner under Section 36, the same is final and conclusive.”

Ginwalla, who has forwarded copies of the correspondence to Parsiana, wrote "if the trust has any appeal/writ, they should share such opinion with the applicants. Otherwise, I suggest that the trustees accept this position with good grace and do not go about squandering the resources of the PPP on appeals/writ petitions which are doomed for failure.” She has advised the PPP trustees to channel their energies to the north side where there is "no embargo for construction and handing over on long lease.”