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TMI Blog1988 (11) TMI 351X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uty to seek court's intervention in this matter. It is asserted that in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Museum Trust had been created by Late Maharaja Sawai Mansingh as Public Trust and the same was registered as a Public Trust under the provision of the Rajasthan Public Trust Act, 1959 (Rajasthan Act 42 of 1959). The petitioners State that Lt. General Maharaja Rajendra Maharaj Dhiraj Sewai Man Singh of Jaipur and his predecessors rulers of erstwhile Jaipur State had founded the museum for the benefit of the public, in a portion of the City Palace Jaipur and this museum has a large number of items of value and is being used for the benefit of the public of the State of Jaipur and by visitors to that State. Hence, Lt. General His Highness Maharaj Sawai Man Singh II, Maharaj of Jaipur had dedicated and declared the State museum along with all the collections constituted therein and an additional sum of ₹ 1 lakh after relinquishing all personal rights, title and interest therein and vested the same in favour of the trustee as owners thereof to have and hold the same upon Trust for the benefit of all inhabitants of Jaipur and for the visitors to Jaipur irre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Col. Bhawani Singh thereafter tried to remove Mr. Dharam Vira and Dr. R.C. Agarwal and appointed in their place his own wife Mrs. Padmini Devi and one another person by the name of Rajeev Sethi in the trust as additional trustees who, according to the petitioners, were appointed totally ignoring the procedure laid down for the appointment of trustees. PG NO 874 The petitioners further state that the Lt. Col. Sawai Bhawani Singh had started acting in the manner totally detrimental to the interest of the trust and against the public of Jaipur, who were greatly shocked. It was stated as follows: "However, it added that the Board of Trustees has by unanimous resolution already decided to dispose of Atish Market etc., a very valuable property of the Trust in the heart of Jaipur City, possibly to some of his cohorts. No notice as such of the said resolution was given or any resolution referred to, nor made apparent. It is quite apparent that the man describing himself as his general power of attorney would not be doing so for Lt. Col. Bhawani Singh as a Trustee of the Museum Trust, as that is an ex- officio in position Bhawani Singh holds and is not partable or usable by any attor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents Nos. 5 & 6 by one Dr. A.S. Paul son of Mr. B.S. Paul. In the rejoinder affidavit it was further alleged that Razanama and the Ramayan manuscripts prepared by Emperor Akbar which are considered as national treasures and some of the rarest Manuscripts of Soordas, astronomical manuscripts of Sawai Jaisingh, Bhagwat Puran and the paintings dating back to Moghul times, and also the rarest textiles an-l costumes, arms and weapons set with valuable jewels. inter alia, were not there in the museum at the time of moving this application. At the outset, it may be stated that Mr. Sachhar, learned counsel for the respondents on the instructions of his clients, Dr. A.S. Paul, who is present in the Court assured this Court that the said items are there. It appears that there are serious disputes about the running of trust between the heirs of the erstwhile Jaipur Raj family. some supporting the present Lt. Col. Sawai Bhawani Singh and others supporting the Rajmata Gayatri Devi. There are several litigations between the parties in different courts in Rajasthan over those matters. In the aforesaid view of matter we are of the opinion that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itution, in the facts and circumstances of this case, is not warranted. In this case there was no evidence evidencing that any attempt had been made to ask the State to protect any monument or any application had been made to the State seeking intervention and action. In that view of the matter, resort to Art. 49 was not just. We think that invocation of the jurisdiction of this Court as a public interest litigation, in the background of the allegations made in the petition and in the context of this case, was wholly unjustified. Public interest litigation is an instrument for the administration of justice to be used properly in proper cases. Public interest litigation does not mean settling disputes between individual parties. This Court in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, [1984] 2 SCR 67 dealt with this question and Justice Bhagwati, as the learned Chief Justice then was, observed that public interest litigation is not in the nature of adversary litigation but it is a challenge and an opportunity to the Government and its officers to make basic human rights meaningful to the deprived and vulnerable PG NO 877 sections of the community and to assure them social, economic an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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