Mumbai, March 14: The Bombay High Court on Friday evening upheld the stay granted by the Charity Commissioner on the elections of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai scheduled for Saturday, March 14.
Justice Jitendra Jain, at 5 pm on Friday, refused to vacate the stay order issued just hours earlier by the Charity Commissioner.
Charity Commissioner halts election
The Charity Commissioner issued an “operative order” at 3:15 pm on Friday, halting the election and directing the formation of sub-committees to verify eligible voters. One of the members, Deepak Tanaji Pawar, moved the High Court immediately, arguing that the last-minute intervention was unjustified.
Court questions election schedule
The HC noted that the petitioner failed to produce a valid election programme for the March 14 date. While the petitioner presented a notice from October 2025, Justice Jain noted that it pertained to a November 2025 election. “The election programme shown to me does not pertain to election to be held on 14 March 2026,” the judge observed, noting that no documents proved the old schedule applied to the new date.
Inquiry reveals serious lapses
During the proceedings, the court conducted a video call with the Charity Commissioner to understand the urgency of the stay. The Commissioner revealed a series of “serious lapses” discovered during a recent Inspector Inquiry, including the shocking revelation that "2050 rare books were missing" from the society’s collection.
The Commissioner explained that the inquiry was triggered on February 23 following questions raised in the Legislative Assembly. The investigation cast “serious doubts” on the functioning of the managing committee. Furthermore, the Commissioner only learned of the scheduled March 14 elections during a hearing on March 11.
Court finds stay justified
In his order, Justice Jain found the Charity Commissioner’s timeline and reasoning justified. The court remarked: “Looking at the sequence of events narrated above, no fault can be found in the Charity Commissioner passing order just one day before the election... There are serious lapses in the functioning of the society prima facie at least.”
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The court concluded that since no specific election programme for March 14 was produced and serious allegations of mismanagement remained, "no case is made for grant of interim relief." The elections remain stayed until further notice.
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