Financial mismanagement Court appoints new trustees of charitable trust in Thane

Thane, Mar 23 (PTI) A Thane court has denied reappointment to previous trustees of a charitable trust here following allegations of financial mismanagement and administrative lapses, and appointed 11 new trustees.

    The new trustees of the Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha needed to be appointed to ensure the effective administration and growth of the trust, District Judge, Bhiwandi, N K Karande said in the order on March 19, a copy of which was made available on Saturday.

    The court ruled that the existing trustees did not meet the necessary qualifications for reappointment due to various concerns, including pending inquiries and administrative lapses.

    Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha, Ganeshpuri, a registered charitable trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, was originally formed through the amalgamation of two trusts in 1962 for various social works under a court-directed scheme.
    As per the scheme, the trustees are appointed for a five-year term, with fresh appointments made by the district court upon expiry of the tenure.

    The previous trustees were appointed in 2016 for a five-year term which expired on November 16, 2021.
    However, delays in the appointment process and multiple allegations of misconduct, mismanagement, and financial irregularities led to prolonged litigation.
    Complaints were filed against several trustees, including allegations of financial mismanagement, misconduct and administrative lapses.

    The Charity Commissioner's office had submitted a report detailing the ongoing inquiries against some of the trustees over alleged misconduct, including disrespecting a tomb and financial irregularities.

    Further, multiple complaints from villagers, trust staff and public representatives cited concerns over the administration and economic transactions of the trust.
    Several trustees also failed to submit audit reports and financial accounts for the years 2019-2020 and 2020-21.


    Given these concerns, the court determined that new trustees needed to be appointed to ensure the effective administration and growth of the trust.

    A public notice had been issued, following which 152 applications were received for the trustee positions.
    The applicants were required to submit affidavits confirming their criminal records, residential proof, character certificates, fitness certificates and details regarding their involvement with other trusts.
    After scrutiny, 75 applicants met the required criteria.
    Following the rigorous selection process, the court finalised the appointment of the 11 new trustees - Sunil Dnyanoba Pote, Jagannath Poso Patil, Anuja Amol Singalwar, Nayansingh Jatansingh Thakor, Uday Ishwarlal Vyas, Ravindra Chandulal Shukla, Vitthal Mohan Rajput, Lalita Nitan Joshi, Amit Kisan Raut, Anand Prabhakar Anvekar and Sugandha Sachin Jadhav.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)