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TMI Blog1962 (5) TMI 37X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , in the State of Bombay came into force on August 14, 1950. Section. 18 of the Act enacted: 18. (1) It shall be the duty of the trustee of a public trust to which this Act has been applied to make an application for the registration of- the public trust. ..................... Section 66 of the Act provides penalties according to a table appended to it for contravention of the several sections set out in it and among the sections so included is s. 18(1). In this state of affairs the trustees of the appellant-trust addressed on April 16, 1952, a communication to the Assistant Charity Commissioner, Poona region, Poona- being the authority empowered to effect the registration of the Trust, if it was a public Trust-that,, the Kesari Mahratta Trust was not a 'public Trust Within the meaning of the Act and submitted that it was not liable to be, registered thereunder. Section 19 of the Act empowers an Assistant Charity Commissioner to make an enquiry for ascertaining, inter alia, whether a Trust exist and whether such Trust is a public Trust. This officer held an enquiry under this provision, giving an opportunity to the trustees of the Trust to make representations an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rise only if the Trust were a public charitable Trust within the definition in a. 2(13) read with s. 9, we purpose immediately to proceed to consider the submissions made by learned Counsel in relation to this crucial point. The Trust in question was created by a deed dated August 16, 1920 by three persons. The first two authors of the Trust were the sons of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who had died on August 1, 1920, leaving a will executed on April 5, 1918, to the terms of which we shall refer presently. The third executant was the executor appointed by the deceased under his said will. The Trust deed in its preamble refers to the execution of the will and after reciting the fact that the will was agreed to in all respect by the three exeoutants proceeds to state that the Trust deed in regard to the Kesari Printing Press Newspapers etc. was being executed in order that the objects recited in the will may be fulfilled. The Trust deed contains 13 clauses but of these those relevant for the consideration of the matters arising in the appeal are only two and they are cls. 1 and 8. Clauses 1 specifies the objects of the Trust, while el. 8 makes provision for contingencies arising from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rts below have rested wholly on the interpretation and legal effect of the provisions contained in el. 1 it is necessary to set this out in full. The Trust deed is in Marathi and the following is its English translation accepted by both parties : This Trust deed has been made as a means to the fulfilment perpetually and uninterruptedly after the death of the late Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak of that very object of his with which he took all activities after be took charge of the newspapers-the Kesari and Maratha such as of spreading political education through the newspapers and thereby making people alive to their political rights and carrying on other multifarious public activities conducive to the national ideal etc. Pausing here, is it necessary to mention that the translation as it appears in the Paper Book reads ,such as spreading national education through those newspapers etc. It was however agreed that the adjective national was not a correct rendering of the Marathi expression 'Rajakia which was more accurately denoted by the word political and we therefore proceed on the translation which was accepted before us by both the parties. It will be see ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hem, no evidence was led at any stage by either party as to what precisely was the policy or the object of the two newspapers which was sought to be achieved by the Lokmanya through them. Nor was evidence placed before the Court of the precise aims and objects which the Lokmanya incalcuted by to teachings through these newspapers. It was, possibly assumed that the life and ideals for which the Lokmanya stood, and in particular the matters which he considered as the prime purpose and policy of these two newspapers with which he, was connected for over two decades, were matters of history so well-known to the Courts and authorities in Maharashtra and therefore on which no formal evidence was required to be adduced. We would however, add that such evidence on the record would have lightened our task and that it is with this handicap that the point in controversy in the appeal has to be decided. This might be the convenient stage at which reference could be made to a previous occasion when the interpretation of the trust-deed with particular reference to the question of its character as a public charitable trust came up for consideration before the Courts. Section 4 (3) of the Indian I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al and then consider the sub. missions made by learned Counsel on either side. Referring to cl. 1 and the matters to which it refers as needed to be done for fulfilling the objects of the trust, the learned Judges said that these were: (1) the awakening in the minds of the people a consciousness of their political rights by spreading the knowledge of politics through the newspapers Kesari and Mahratha and (2) organising various public movements calculated to promote the national ideal. They went on to state that the second purpose could not amount to a charitable purpose under the Bombay Public Trust Act and observed As the nature and character of the public movements which were to be promoted for furthering the national ideal were not even indicated, much less specified it seems impo- ssible to say that the Organisation of public movements which in the opinion of the trustees might be calculated to promote the national ideal can be regarded necessarily as an object of general public utility within the meaning of clause (4) of section 9 of the Act. Those public movements would obviously not fall under any of the other clauses of section 9 either. Clearly, theref ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hem disclosed more than purpose, but the common link between every such line of activity was that it stemmed from a political purpose, for the newspapers were made to serve as the vehicle for achieving his objectives. The question therefore as to the purpose of the trust would have to be resolved by examining the various activities in which he himself engaged and the object with which he engaged in them, but the latter is not the basis upon which the High Court has proceeded in reaching a finding that the trust-deed disclosed a duality of purpose one of which the learned Judges recognised was not charitable but the other was held to be so. The words in the second limb of the first clause referring to the spreading of political education through the newspapers and thereby making people live to their political rights and secondly the carrying on other multifarious public activities conducive to the national ideal were really meant as illustrations of activities undertaken by the late Lokmanya during his life-time as is manifest by the use of the words such as before the clause. If the object with which the Lokmanya took up his activities after he assumed charge of the newspape ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... purpose,, viz., the fulfilment of the objects with which Tilak took up all activities after he took charge of the two newspapers. We have earlier drawn attention to the feature that no evidence was placed before the authorities under the Act or before the Courts as to the object which the Lokmanya sought to achieve by the two newspapers Learned Counsel for the appellant invited our attention to the reported decision of the Bombay High Court where certain writings and articles of the late Lokmanya came up for consideration, and in particular to the articles which formed the subject-matter of the charges against the Lokmanya in prosecutions for sedition. But if one were, confined to the these they must obviously give us only a partial and truncated idea of his activities and so are apt to afford but a distorted picture of the objects with which the two newspapers were conducted. We therefore examined the literature bearing on the life and work of this great leader and particularly two recent books on the topic Bala Gangadhar Tilak by Parvate (1958) which was brought to our attention by Mr. Sanyal appearing for the respondent, and Lokmanya Tilak by Dhananjay Keer (September, 1959) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts style; it was direct, simple forthright. The papers championed the cause of the underdog and everywhere fought against injustice, contained a study of public complaints and grievances, exposed oppressive officers, criticised fearlessly and made constructive suggestions for the reform of the administration and championed the peoples cause in every sense. During Tilak's days Tilak and Kesari became synonymous terms. The Kesari had been the citadel of the national fight and remained impregnable even through repressive campaigns and became a national asset. It was Tilak's confirmed view that the ills of the nation demanded political reforms and not immediate social reforms. Tilak challenged the right of the foreign bureaucracy to sit in legislative judgment on lndian society. It was the view of Tilak that respect must be paid to the prejudices of people and that one must try to make the humblest of them feel that he was one of them. Tilak was convinced of the futility of appeals to people made in the form of speeches and resolutions with their eyes fixed towards Government and realised that the Indian National Congress with which be was closely associated from 1889 would be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upon words. Tilak was then the spearhead of the Swadeshi movement, but even here it was fired and inspired by a political purpose, for he said: If the Indian Government dissociates itself from the commercial aspirations of the British, Nation, then it will be time for Swadeshi workers to consider the question of dissociating their movement from politics. But so long as politics and commerce are blended together in the policy of the Government of India, it will be a blender to dissociate Swadeshi movement from politics. And in the Kesari he declared that if it was unavoidable to use a foreign article, they should give preference to articles produced in Asiatic countries and the next preference should be given to other European countries and America. It was Tilak who made it the mission of his life to arouse the people against political slavery and foreign rule. He resolved to organise the people under the banner of the Congress and to make it the real spokesman of the people. The two newspapers served as the vehicle through which he aimed to achieve these objects. Possibly nothing brings out *ore forcibly the purpose and aim of the Lokmanya which animated his conduct o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... people to their condition, a political awareness, by which adjustment of a political character would be demanded and enforced by the persons who imbibed those truths or were influenced by such writings. The next question to be- considered is whether a political purpose, i.e., for educating people not on theories of political or social sciences as a subject of academic study, but for moving them to practical action to achieve governmental changes is or is not a charitable purpose. There was some debate before us as to the import of the expression charitable and arguments were addressed in particular as to the exact point of difference between, the concept of charity under the English Law and that under the Indian Law. No doubt, as pointed out by Lord Wright in Chichester Diocesan Fund Board-of Finance (Incorporated) v. Simpons ((1944) A.C. 341, 353.) the term charity has not, in England, always had a precise connotation. What constituted a charitable purpose has there been derived from the preamble of the Act 43 Elizabeth 1 Ch. IV (1601) which was' taken to signify those purposes which would be held to be charitable. It is not' necessary for us to set out the objects e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of the question before us it is not necessary to consider the precise points of the difference between the English law as understood by Lord Macnaghten and that which finds place in the Indian statutes dealing with the relevant topic. We say this because we have judgments--of the Privy Council cons- truing the terms of s. 4 of the Indian Income-tax Act of 1922 in which enactment the purposes which are comprehended within the expression 'charitable are defined in exactly the same manner as we find in s. 9 of the Act now in question and where in particular, the. learned Judges had to consider the question whether the achievement of a political purpose, as we have explained earlier, was a charitable purpose. Before however referring to the Privy Council it would be of advantage if we refer briefly to the decisions in England which have taken the view that if a purpose were political it is not charitable i.e., it does not advance an object of general public utility. The earliest case to which we need make reference is the decision of Rowlatt, J., in Commissioners of Inland Revenue v. The Temperance Council ((1926) 10 Tax Cas. 748.). It arose out of a claim by the Temperance: ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the exemption, observed It is necessary to ascertain exactly, as far one can, what the question to be decided here is. It was suggested by Mr. Needham that a trust for the promotion of Conservative principles would be a good charitable trust. I am not prepared to hold that. In my opinion, there is no authority. which has gone as far as that. It is true that Stirling, J., in the case of Scoweroft ([1898] 2 Ch. 638.) left the matter open, but, in my opinion, on the present position of the authorities and also, as I think, on the principle of the thing, it is impossible to hold that a trust which is simply a trust for the propagation of the political principles of a particular party is a good charitable trust. The learned Judge then extracted a passage from the judgment of Russell, J., in In re Tetly ((1923) 1 Ch. 258, 262. reading: Subsidising a newspaper for the pro. motion of particular political or fiscal opinions would be a, patriotic purpose in the eyes of those who considered that the triumph of those opinions would be beneficial to the community. It would not be an application funds for a charitable purpose. Scowcrofes case which is referred to by Finlay, J,. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s and mental improvement is in my judgment, an essential portion of the gift.. It is, therefore a gift in one form or another for religious and mental improvement, no doubt in combination with the advancement of Conservative principles; but that limitation, it appears to me, is not sufficient to prevent it from being a perfectly good charitable gift, as undoubtedly it would be if it were a gift for the furtherance of religious and mental improvement alone. In re Tetley ([1923] 1 Ch. 258, 262.), referred to by finlay J., in Boner Law Memorial Trust case ((1933) 17 Tax. Cas. 508.), was concerned with the validity of a bequest under which the trustees were directed to apply property for such patriotic purposes or objects and such charitable object or objects in the British Empire as they in their absolute discretion should select . The Court of appeal affirming a judgment of Russell, J., held that a patriotic purpose might not necessarily be charitable and therefore the bequest was void. Dealing with the head of Charity relating to trusts for purposes beneficial to the community Barrington, L.J.,said. You inquire what the divisions of charities are, and you come to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... which directed them to maintain the said Press and newspaper in an efficient condition keeping up the liberal policy of the said newspaper and devoting the surplus income of the said press and newspaper..................... in improving the said newspaper and placing it on a footing of permanency It. might be mentioned that evidence was placed before the Privy Council of selected issues of the, newspaper which threw light on the character and the, policy of the paper in lifetime of the founder as explanatory of the direction contained in the I words ,keeping up the liberal policy of the said newspaper . The reference under s. 66(2) of the Income-tax Act came before a Division Bench of the Lahore High Court and as the learned Judges were divided in their opinion, the question was referred to full bench of three judges and by a majority the learned Judges held that the income of the trust was not exempt. It was from this judgment that the trustees preferred the appeal to the Privy Council. Sir George Rankin who delivered the judgment of the Judicial Committee first rejected an argument which sought to sustain the charitable nature of the first by a contention that the trust might ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the interests of particular causes, affect the question whether the Court can regard a trust as being one of general public utility. He pointed out that it was not suggested by the Commissioner of Income-tax that the newspaper was intended to be a mere vehicle of political propaganda but was to be an instrument for the dissemination of news and for the ventilation of opinion upon all matters of public interest, and recorded his conclusion that questions of politics and legislation were discussed in the paper only as many other matters were discussed and that it had not been made out that a political purpose was the dominant purpose of the trust. He summarised the position stating that the object of the paper might fairly be described as the object of supplying the Province with an organ of educated public opinion and that it should prima facie be held to be an object of general public utility. Having regard to the evidence before them as to the contents of the paper it was not a newspaper intended for the promotion of particular political or fiscal opinions. The next case to which we desire to make a, reference is the decision in All India Spinner's Association v. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... centuries by the Chancery Courts. The Act of 43 Elizabeth (1601) contained in a preamble a list of charitable objects which fell within the Act, and this was taken as a sort of chart or scheme which the court adopted as a ground- work for developing the law. In doing so they made liberal use of analogies, so that the modern English law can only be ascertained by considering a mass of particular decisions, often difficult to reconcile The difference in language in s. 4(3) from Macnaghten's classification and particularly the inclusion in the Indian Act of the word 'Public' instead of the word 'community' is of importance. The Indian Act gives a clear and succinct definitionwhich must be construed according toits actual language and meaning. English, decisions have no binding authority on its construction, and though they may some- times afford help or guidance, cannot relieve the Indian Courts from their responsibility of applying the language of the Act to the particular circumstances that emerge under conditions of Indian life The statement of the object excludes any question of profit making, and also excludes any element of party politics. Any partic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ose in the sense indicated already. The latest case on the point to which we would like to refer is a decision of Vaisey, J., in Be Hopkinson : Lloyds Bank Ltd. v. Baker((1944) L. R. 71, I.A. 159.) for the reason that the learned Judge refers to all the earlier English cases to which we have already adverted as also to the decision of the Privy Council in the Tribunal case. The purpose of the trust as recited in the bequest was the creation of an educational fund to be utilized at the absolute discretion of the trustees for the advancement of adult education with particular reference to the following purpose (but without limiting their discretion in applying the fund to adult education), that is to say, the education of men and women of all classes on the lines of the Labour Party's memorandum headed A Note on Education in the about Party. Vaisey, J., held that the direction to the trustees to have particular reference to the memorandum of the Labour Party dominated the whole trust, forming its overriding and essential purpose which rendered the trust as one for the attainment of political objects and was not, therefore, charitable. The learned Judge pointed out: Po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... apers were designed by the Lokmanya to be the vehicle for educating the mass of the population to a sense of the grievances suffered by them under foreign rulers, with a view to rouse them to political action and demand a share in Government. He was a full-time poli- tician. At a time when Indian men of learning were eulogising British rule and the masses were inert and lethargic and oblivious to their degradation Lokmanya, by his propaganda and leadership sought to infuse into the minds of the masses selfrespect and courage. By his writings in these papers, Tilak demonstrated to the people that the foreign rule rested on no moral foundation and when he made people realise this, the achievement of freedom became assured. That is why Tilak has been aptly termed the father of India's freedom struggle. (4) The life mission of Lokmanya which he sought to achieve and achieved through the two newspapers, and which is set out in the trust-deed as the object for which the trust was founded was therefore a political purpose. (5) A political purpose is not charitable under s. 9 of the Act and hence, the'. trust was not required to be registered under s. 18 of the Act, and the o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to promote the national ideal; and held that the first was a charitable put-pose and the second was not. As the Charity Commissioner, Bombay, did not file any appeal questioning the finding of the Bombay High Court in so far as it went against him, I shall assume the correctness of the said finding, and proceed to consider whether the first purpose is also not a charitable purpose as is contended before us on behalf of the appellants. Before doing so, it would be convenient to consider the scope of s. 9(4) of the Act, for it is agreed that the trust is not covered by the other clauses of the section. It is common place to observe that where the language of an Act is clear and explicit, we must give effect to it for the words of the statute speak the intention of the Legislature. When the words of a statute are unambiguous, it would be safe to consider them without reference to cases. The words of cl. (4) of s. 9 of the Act are of the widest amplitude and are free from any ambiguity. The key-words are, general public utility . General means pertaining to a whole class; Public means the body of the people at large, including any class of' the public; utility means usef ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was merely to replace the British Government by an Indian Government, for, in that event, the object would come to an end with the achievement of independence. The object, therefore, must be something higher than a mere change of political power from the British to the Indian hands. The next part of the trust deed gives a clue to the scope of the object. The activities mentioned therein reflect the content of the object. The activities mentioned are those that Bal Gangadhar Tilak carried on after he took charge of the newspaper ',The Kesari and The Mahratta. The nature of the activities is indicated and it is the spreading of national education through those newspapers and thereby making the people alive to their political rights. The words such aa indicate that the said activity is not ex- haustive of the object of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, but is only illustrative of the activities. The question, therefore, is whether the activities, such as spreading of national education through the newspapers and thereby making the people alive to their political rights, are of charitable nature within the meaning of s. 9 (4) of the Act. It may be mentioned that learned counsel for the ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to participate, directly or indirectly, in the establishment or management of government. Political rights, therefore, are not rights pertaining to any particular political party. They are rights of every citizen irrespective of his party affiliations, which he is entitled to exercise in- the formation or administration of a government. In the context of a modern state, education in political rights may include diverse aspects of it, such as, political, economical social etc. It is the fundamental of any good government of a State that the people belonging to that state shall know their political rights. The importance of the said education has no relation to the form of government existing at a particular time. It is important both in a self-governing State, as well as in a colonial State. Unless the people know their rights, they cannot work either for their freedom or elect proper persons to represent them after attaining freedom. No education is more important than political science, for not only good government but also the maintenance of independence, to a large extent, depends upon the political consciousness of' the people of a particular State. If that be so, I f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eeds of the' mass ignorant population, who have generally no idea of what passes around them and who therefore must be give in the knowledge of such topics as concern their everyday life by writings on literary, social, political, moral and economic subjects . The Mahratta, on the other band, kept in view the more advanced portion of the community who require to be provided with material for thinking intelligently on the important topics of the day'. 'The tone and temper of Kesari were democratic; it aim was popular education and public agitation. The Mahratta was to serve as the authoritative organ of educated public opinion in Maharashtra. It discussed compre- hensively every question of high politics, and offered its readers a selection of the views of foreign and Indian journals and publicists on the questions of the day. Though Tilak was in the beginning closely associated with the papers, later on he took over the editorship of both the newspapers and became their sole proprietor. The author describes how the papers were mounded in the hands of Tilak, at p. 39: Kesari was produced not to entertain the people, but to instruct and guide them. It was a news ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y could know their rights, understand and appreciate the problems of their country, and contribute their mite to its progress and prosperity ? It is said that Tilak was a leader of only one of the parties and his activities were analogous to those of a leader of a political party in England. It is true that in the days of Tilak there were also patriotic gentlemen who preferred to achieve independence by a circuitous and slow path and there were also selfseekers who built up their career on the sacrifices of their fellow citizens. But then there were no political parties in the sense they are in England and are now in India. Tilak was not an ordinary politician indulging in party politics to build up his career. His lifetime was spent in educating the people with a view to realise his vision. To class him as a party politician with a view to import the English law in the construction of the trust deed is, to say the least, to ignore the facts of history and to belittle the great contribution made by Tilak in the country's cause. His work must be evaluated not on party but on a national level. It is, therefore, clear that the object of Tilak, after he tookover the newspapers, was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cannot relieve the Indian Courts from their responsibility of applying the language of the Act to the particular circumstances that emerge under conditions of Indian life. The Judicial Committee again in Williams Trustees v.. Revenue Commissioners ([1948] 16 I.T.R. Supp. L 41.) reiterated the same principle with greater emphasis. With this background let me briefly notice the English law on the subject with a view to ascertain whether they would afford any help or guidance for construing the statutory provisions of the Act. The English law of charity has grown round the Statute of Elizabeth (43 Eliz. c. 4) and the preamble thereto read as follows : The relief of aged, impotent and poor people ; the maintenance of sick and maimed soldiers and mariners ; the maintenance of schools of learning, free schools and scholars in universities ; the repair of bridges, ports, ,havens, causeways, churches, sea-banks and highways; the education and preferment of orphans ; the relief, stock or maintenance' of houses of correction ; the marriage of, poor maids; the supportation, aid and help of young tradesmen, handicraftsmen, and persons decayed ; the relief or redemption of prisoner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... verning body by whom the Trust was administered might deem desirable : vide Bonar Law Memorial Trust v. Commissioners of Inland Revenue ((1033) 17 Tax Cas. 508.). The following purposes have been held to be charitable purposes : (1) Financing a Bill before Parliament to establish a see at Birmingham vide In re VilliersWilkes ((1895) 72 L.T. 323.). (2) Combating vivisection partly by the repeal of a statute : vide In re Foveaux ((1898) 2 Ch. 638.) Maintenance of village club and reading room (,to be used for the furtherance of Conservative principles and religious and mental improvement, and to be kept free from intoxicants and dancing : vide In re Scowcroft (a). (4) For the benefit of a particular place, whether a parish, town, or borough, a county, or a country : vide Public Trustees v. Smith ((1932) 1 Ch. 153.). In Halsbury's Laws of England, 3rd Edn., Vol. 4, the following summary is found at p. 231 : The promulgation of particular doctrines or principles not subversive of morality or otherwise pernicious and not in furtherance of the principles of a particular political party maybe charitable, as, for instance, Conservative principles combined with mental a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... law. Trusts created for educating the public on the evils of alcoholism, prostitution and other social evils, with a view to put pressure on the legislature to bring about appropriate reforms would cease to be charitable : political purposes may be brought under this head, for mostly, though not always, such purposes would be sought to be effectuated by a change in law. But in my view, the mere fact that a change of law is involved in the process could not make a purpose otherwise charitable a non-charitable one. Nor does the fourth principle afford a correct test for a charitable purpose. It is true that the author's declaration that a particular gift is charitable is not decisive of the question, but in the ultimate analysis the court has to decide whether the purpose or object is charitable or not. I do not see any insurmountable difficulty in the court coming to a conclusion one way or other whether a political object is a charitable object, just like it would come to a conclusion in the case of a gift for the propagation of the tenets of a particular religious sect. Nor can it be said that the court by deciding the character of a trust created for political purposes will b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this problem has been succinctly stated by Chitty, J., in Re Foveaux thus: The method employed by the Court is to consider the enumeration of charities in the Statute of Elizabeth, hearing in mind that the enumeration is not exhaustive. Institutions whose objects are analogous to those mentioned in the Statute are admitted to be charities; and again, institutions which are analogous to those, already admitted by reported decisions are held to be charities. The pursuit of these analogies obviously requires caution and circumspection. After all, the best that can be done is to consider each case as it arises, upon its own special circumstances.'$ Though this statement appeared in the year 1895, a scrutiny of the later decisions indicates that the same approach continued to be adopted by the courts. Tudor in his book on Charities, 5th Edn.,p. 38, describes the judicial approach to the problem thus : The Courts have extended the class outlined in the preamble to the Statute of Elizabeth to such an extent as to render it valueless as a basis for the classification of charitable objects, and it must be admitted that no analogous counterpart to many of the charities enume ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd legislation were discussed only as many other matters were in this paper discussed, and that it is not made out that a political purpose was the dominant purpose of the trust. On the facts of the case before it, the Judicial Committee came to the following conclusions : They think that the object of the paper may fairly be described as the object of supplying the Province with an organ of educated public opinion' and that it should prima facie be held to be an object of general public utility . Subsequent remarks show the distinction between party-politics and general political education : Having regard to the particular circumstances of the time, the directions of the testator and the- evidence as to the contents of the paper before 1898, their Lordships think that the present case is nearer on its facts to In re Scowcroft ((1898) 2 Ch. 638. (1923) 1 Ch. 258.) than it is to the case of the Bonar Law Memorial Trust ((1938) 17 Tax Cas. 508.), or to the case put by Russell, J., in In re Tetley (3) of a newspaper subsidized for the promotion of particular political or fiscal opinions. This judgment was a clear attempt to sustain the validity of the trust ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by, the purposes or propaganda of that party. This case, while not deciding on the wide import of the Indian statute, made a distinction between 'a party's propaganda and its party politics and its other objects. In Subash Chandra Bose v. Gordhandas Patel (I.L.R. 1940 Bom. 254, 278.) a testator made four gifts by his will and provided that the balance of my assets after disposal of the above mentioned four gifts is to be handed over to Mr. Subhas Chandra Bose to be spent by him or by his nominee or nominees according to his instructions for the political uplift of India and preferably for publicity work on behalf of- India's cause in other countries. The Bombay High Court held that the words political uplift of India whether it denotes a general raising of the political status or conditions of India or the advancement of a political purpose was too vague to be capable of enforcement by the Courts and accordingly the trust was bad and an intestacy resulted as to the residue covered by the clause. 'The decision, therefore, was based upon the principle that a charitable purpose could Dot be sustained when it was vague. But the observations of Beaumont, C.J., are ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he acquisition of complete national autonomy or swarajya , (3) the diffusion of political education and knowledge as to the political affairs of India and propagandist work both in India as well as in any part of the world, and (4) any object which might conduce to any of the aforesaid object. The Court held that the first mentioned object went beyond the definition of charitable purposes contained in s. 4 of the Income-tax Act in as much as the section of the purpose rested in the uncontrolled opinion of the managing committee, and that, the second mentioned object also went too far, because it was really a gift for political purposes. Beaumont C.J., who delivered the leading judgment, noticed that the purpose, namely, the advancement of any other object of general public utility went further than the definition of charity to be derived from the English cases. He observed that, if all the purposes in the trust deed could be regarded as of general public utility for the benefit of the inhabitants of English India, then the trust would be, in his opinion, a good charitable trust. But he could not decide that it was so, because, in his opinion, if the attainment of national ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d as the whole of the profits of the newspapers could be applied for non-charitable purpose, the trust was not valid. The High Court then did not decide whether the first purpose in the trust deed was charitable or not: that question falls to be decide in the present case. It is therefore, clear that the Indian decisions, though to some extent coloured by the English decisions, appreciated the distinction between the wide language of sub-s. (3) of s. 4 of the Indian Income-tax Act and the fourth category of Lord Macnaghten's classification under the English law of charities. But I find it difficult to accept the observations made in the said judgments that a trust created for the advancement of political objects would necessarily cease to be one for a public charitable purpose. In support of this proposition there is nothing except the doubtful and conflicting authority in England. There is no justification to curtail the wide words of the statute by importing foreign ideas developed in a different set up. In this context, a decision of the Supreme Court, of one of the States in America is rather instructive, viz., that in Taylor v. Hoag ((1922),21 A.L. R. 946, 949, 950.). T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aritable or a non-chartiable purpose, the entire trust would be void, as the trustees could administer the trust exclusively for the benefit of non-charitable purposes, under s. 11 of the Act the law is changed in regard to that matter. Section 55 introduces a cypres doctrine which is wider in scope than the doctrine is generally understood in that it enables the court, inter alia, under certain circumstances, if it is not in public interest, expedient, practicable, desirable, necessary or proper to carry out wholly or partially the original intention of the author of the public trust or the object for which the public trust was created, to apply the same to any other object. The Act widens the scope of a charitable purpose as understood in the English law, recognizes the validity of the trust though the purposes include both charitable and non-charitable, and enables the court, under certain circumstances, to divert the trust to other charitable purposes not intended by the author of the trust. The liberal spirit adopted by the Act does not permit a narrow interpretation of a charitable purpose accepted by the English courts under different circumstances. Let me now summarize ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... This passage is supported by decisions relied upon by the author. It is not necessary to discuss them in detail, as the learned counsel for the appellant has not questioned the correctness of the said proposition. In this view, it is not necessary to consider whether s. 11 of the Act has retrospective operation. Learned counsel for the appellant attempted to argue that s. 55 of the Act offends his right of reversion to the property which is the subject-matter of the trust. The question of the validity of the said section does not arise in the present case. The only question is whether it is the duty of the trustees of the trust to make an application for registration of the said trust. As I have held that, the trust is a public trust within the meaning of s. 9 of the Act, under s. 18 thereof, the said trust has to be registered in manner prescribed therein. Questions such as the extent of the trust, the scope of the doctrine of cypres, are all foreign to the present inquiry. I do not propose to express any opinion on the same. In the result, the appeal fails and is dismissed with costs. By COURT: In view of the majority opinion of the Court the appeal is allowed and the Order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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