Vile Parle has a longer institutional history than most of the western suburbs. The educational and cultural bodies founded here in the first half of the twentieth century are still operating, many of them holding substantial property, and the legal questions they raise are the ones that only arise when an organisation has been running for seventy or eighty years.
Old institutions, old files
An institution founded in the 1930s or 1950s will have been through several generations of trustees, at least one change of name or object, and often a property transaction or two. Whether all of that reached the Public Trust Register is another question entirely.
The characteristic Vile Parle problem is not a board that ignored its obligations; it is a board that complied diligently under a secretary who retired in 1998, after which the practice lapsed and nobody noticed. The remedy is the same either way: obtain the current register extract, establish exactly which recorded entries no longer match reality, and file the outstanding change reports under Section 22. The 2017 amendment to the Act allows a report filed beyond the ordinary ninety days to be entertained where sufficient cause is shown, so a long gap is something to explain rather than something that closes the door.
Property held by educational and charitable bodies
Vile Parle institutions frequently hold land and buildings, and the single provision that governs what they may do with it is Section 36. A sale, exchange or gift needs the previous sanction of the Charity Commissioner; so does a lease of a building or non-agricultural land for more than three years, and the Charity Commissioner cannot sanction a lease beyond thirty years at all.
Two things follow for anyone advising such a body. First, sanction must be obtained before the institution commits itself, not afterwards — the narrow ex post facto route added in 2017 is conditional and confined, and is not a plan. Second, an application under Section 36 is decided in the interest of the trust, so the office will look at valuation, at how the transaction was arrived at, at what happens to the proceeds, and at whether the institution’s own accounts and filings are in order. Putting the file straight first is usually the quickest route to a sanction.
Societies and governance
Many Vile Parle bodies are registered societies as well as public trusts, which means elections, a members’ register and general body meetings alongside the Public Trusts Act obligations. Disputes about whether a committee was validly elected, or about who is entitled to act, are common in institutions of this age. They are resolved on the constitution and the record, and where they cannot be, through the procedures the Act provides — see trustee disputes and society registration.
Funding and the income tax side
Institutions seeking grants or corporate CSR support need more than their Charity Commissioner registration: NGO DARPAN registration, registration under Section 12A and approval under Section 80G of the Income-tax Act, and CSR-1 where corporate money is involved. Older bodies sometimes hold approvals granted under earlier regimes and have not re-applied under the current one, which is a problem that surfaces only when a donor checks.
Other matters
From the residential parts of Vile Parle the enquiries are the ordinary ones — property and title, legal notices, GST registration and notices for small businesses, Gazette name changes, and matters concerning women and family including proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act and divorce.
Practicalities
Vile Parle is on the Western line south of Andheri; chambers are at Malwani MHADA in Malad West. For institutional work the geography is largely immaterial — the Charity Commissioner’s office for Greater Mumbai is at Worli wherever the institution is based, and DARPAN and income tax applications are made online. What governs how long a matter takes is the state of the institution’s records.
What to bring
- The founding deed or memorandum, and any amendments ever made to it.
- The registration number and the most recent register extract.
- The last available audited accounts, however old.
- Any orders previously passed by the Charity Commissioner’s office, including old sanctions.
- A list of who has actually been acting as trustee or committee member, with dates as far as they can be established.
Where appearances are made
Office of the Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra, Worli; the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, Borivali; the City Civil and Sessions Court, Dindoshi, Goregaon; and the Family Court, Bandra.
Chambers and appointments
Chambers are at 704 Classic Building, Gate No. 8, Malwani MHADA, Malad (West), Mumbai 400095. Consultations are by appointment. To fix a time, telephone or send a message on WhatsApp to +91 99301 50560, or use the contact page.
This page describes general procedure and is published for information only, in keeping with Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. It is not legal advice and does not solicit work. What applies to a particular matter depends on its own facts.