Ringside view

With the scuttling of the initiative to involve influential and prominent community members in restoring some semblance of order to the battle torn Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) board of trustees (see "The meeting that wasn’t," page 25), all factions are raising the ante. At a BPP board meeting on September 27, 2016, chairman Yazdi Desai and trustees Noshir Dadrawala and Kersi Randeria reportedly passed two resolutions. The first one forbade trustees Armaity Tirandaz and Viraf Mehta from accessing any BPP papers without the board’s consent. [Subsequently Randeria told the DNA (September 29) that "there was some confusion: (Tirandaz’s name) hasn’t been included in the resolution.] The second resolution prohibited sending of any papers to BPP trustee Muncherji Cama for his signature. Cama’s seat on the trust is in limbo following a dispute over whether his letter of resignation to the trust is valid or not.

All sides have suffered in the fray, emotionally and physically. Following the scuffle at the Metropolitan Magistrate court grounds on September 8, Randeria’s ophthalmologists are concerned about the fluid in his right eye that was injured. Hormuz Mehta, son of former BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta and brother of Viraf, was seen a few days later in the emergency room of the Breach Candy Hospital as his neck was hurting. The two of them and Dinshaw were involved in the fracas.The ability to let go, to forget and forgive, to view the larger picture is not something either side believes in. It’s more about extracting mileage, of righting perceived wrongs, of settling old scores.

The parties may have some valid reasons for pursuing hostilities. But one has to calculate the cost. The notion that the trust can serve the public purpose while carrying on an internecine battle has not been borne out during the tenure of the last board. Not only did all allotments and most doles stop, but the subsequent financial crunch meant that staff salaries, bonus, lawyers’ bills, labor relations were all delayed.

Some on the present board believe that with a majority of four to two, they can continue to function. (BPP trustee Zarir Bhathena underwent brain surgery in New York for removal of a tumor around September 23. He had gone there to attend a wedding. He is reported to be progressing well, but for some time the illness will take a toll on his ability to work.)

Various court rulings indicate that a trust can function by majority rule. But what if the decisions are challenged before the Charity Commissioner (CC) and the courts of law? Cama is planning a flurry of legal notices and even cases. One thing we should have learnt from past experience is that once the judiciary is approached, the resolution of disputes takes a backseat to endless delays and mounting expenses. Randeria, Dinshaw and Cama all have deep pockets, as did the BPP in better days. The apex Bombay trust spent three crore rupees (US $ 450,300) on banning two priests from performing religious ceremonies at Doongerwadi and two agiaries controlled by the BPP. They succeeded in their objective but at the same time found their powers curtailed by the Bombay High Court (BHC) order restraining them from interfering in religious matters. All in all, it was an abject waste of time and public money. Had the same time, effort and money been spent on improving the lot of all the mobeds, the community would have benefitted.

Now history appears set on repeating itself. Once Dinshaw and Cama hit back at the board, it is unlikely the trust will be able to function meaningfully. Will the CC uphold the ban on elected representatives being denied access to trust papers? Are not all trustees liable individually for the functioning of the trust? How are they to fulfill their financial and legal duties without studying the necessary papers? What if a particular file is denied to a trustee? On what basis will she or he decide on the merits of the case without reading the papers? If the CC upholds or strikes down the resolution, will not the disaffected party move the High Court and the Supreme Court? We have witnessed, in the case of the Parsi Lying-In Hospital, that when the BHC upheld the proposal to develop the languishing property, Dinshaw took the matter to the Supreme Court, whereupon the developer, fed up with the delays, withdrew his proposal. The Hospital is now in limbo with mounting repair bills.

In Cama’s matter, because the majority of the trustees don’t want him on the trust, they are prolonging the proceedings before the CC. Cama’s term expires mid-2018 and one assumes that after the CC passes his orders, the losing side will approach the High Court. Cama, in the meanwhile, contends that the BPP must function with all seven trustees and therefore any decision taken by a board of six would be invalid. He is moving an originating summons in the BHC to decide the issue. His supporters, Tirandaz and Viraf, have refused to sign any allotment papers and also informed the registrar not to register any such documents until legal opinion is obtained or Cama’s suit is heard. Cama is also moving the CC over the leasing of a flat in the much sought after Cusrow Baug to homeopath Dr Farrokh Master, claiming that the norms for allotment were violated.

With so many legal notices and cases on the anvil, how much time and energy will the trustees have for constructive work? The previous board at least functioned for two years in relative peace though the policies they pursued were disastrous for the community. A gross error they made was in driving out trustee Dadrawala from office. He was the only one elected from the Adult Franchise for Progress panel put up by solicitor Berjis Desai and Randeria. By treating him like a pariah and denying him access to official trust papers, they triggered Dadrawala’s resignation. The ensuing election resulted in cracks emerging between the remaining six. When BPP trustee Arnavaz Mistry switched loyalties from Dinshaw to Desai, a campaign to malign her was launched. It was alleged she enriched herself at the expense of the poor. Even today she finds it hard to believe she lost the April 2016 trusteeship election to Tirandaz. In 2008 she had garnered the largest number of votes! She laments that her heartfelt efforts for the disadvantaged, especially at the Parsi Ward at the J. J. (Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy) Hospital, are disparaged.

Unless enough influential and concerned community members come forth and pressure the trustees to make peace, the present cauldron will continue to simmer and may even boil over. The September 8 outburst outside the Metropolitan Magistrate court was a long time in the making. The factors that caused the fracas still persist. Each court hearing sees the warring factions and their supporters taunt one another. Another eruption may be round the corner, more so if any trusteeship election is held. Unless the community acts wisely and well, violence may become the rule, not the exception.