BHRT Act 28Chapter V · Powers and Duties of the Board

Section 28 · General powers and duties of the Board

(1)

The general superintendence of all religious trusts in the State shall be vested in the Board.The Board shall do all things reasonable and necessary to ensure that such trusts are properly supervised and administered and that the income thereof is duly appropriated and applied to the objects of such trusts and in accordance with the purposes for which such trusts were founded or for which they exist, so far as the objects and purposes can be ascertained.

(2)

Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), and subject to the other provisions of this Act, the powers and duties of the Board shall be-

(a)

to prepare and maintain in the prescribed manner a complete record containing full information relating to the origin, nature, extent, income (if any), objects and beneficiaries of the different classes of religious trusts in the State of Bihar;

(b)

to prepare and maintain a register containing true copies of all documents creating any religious trust;

(c)

to prepare and settle its budget and to furnish a copy thereof to the State Government or to such authority as the State Government may direct;

(d)

to take measures for the recovery of lost property of any religious trust;

(e)

to cause inspection to be made of the property and the office of any religious trust including accounts and to authorise the Superintendent or any of its members, officers or servant for that purpose;

(f)

from time to time, to call for information, reports, return and other documents from trustees;

(g)

to give directions for the proper administration of a religious trust in accordance with the law governing such trust and the wishes of the founder in so far as such wishes can be ascertained and are not repugnant to such law;

(h)

to remove a trustee from his office if such trustee-

(i)is convicted of any such offence or is subjected by a Criminal Court to any such order as implies moral turpitude which in the opinion of the Board, unfits him to hold office;

(ii)is convicted more than once of the same or different offences under this Act;

(iii)refuses to act, or willfully disobeys the directions and orders of the Board under this Act; or

(iv)applies for being adjudged or is adjudged an insolvent:

(v)[ makes persistent defaults in the submission of budgets,accounts, reports or returns or in payment of contributions or other dues payable to the Board. ['Sub-clauses (iv), (v) & (vii) of clause (h)' Inserted vide Section 9 by Amendment Act 1 of 2007.]

(vi)alienates immovable property of the trust in contravention of this Act or misappropriates funds of the trust.

(vii)indulges in immoral act disapproved by Dharmashashtras or has violated "maryada" of the "sampradaya" to which he belongs.]

(i)

to direct the deposit of the endowment money of a religious trust in the hands of a trustee in any bank approved by the State Government;

(j)

to sanction on the application of a trustee or any other person interested in a religious trust, the conversion of any property of such trust into another property, if the Board is satisfied that such conversion is beneficial for the said trust:

Provided that no such conversion shall be sanctioned unless the Board so resolves by majority which includes at least three fourth of its members and resolution of the Board is approved by the District Judge;

(k)

to control and administer the Trust Fund subject to the general supervision of the State Government;

(l)

to keep true and regular accounts of its own receipts and disbursements and submit the same for audit;

(m)

to furnish to the State Government or to such officer as the State Government may appoint in this behalf any statement, report, return or other documents and any information which the State Government or, as the case may be, such officer may require to be furnished and also to furnish to the State Government an annual report giving a detailed account of the activities of the Board:

(n)

to institute, whenever it thinks fit, an inquiry relating to the administration of a religious trust;

(o)

to direct the trustee of a religious trust to institute in a court of law, within such time as may be fixed by the Board, any suit or proceeding which he is entitled to institute in accordance with the law for the time being in force in respect of the trust or any matter connected therewith and on failure of the trustee to do so, institute such suit or proceeding itself;

(p)

to defend either on behalf of or in addition to the trustee any suit or proceeding instituted with respect to religious trust or any matter connected therewith, or in cases where there is no trustee or the succession to the office of the trustee is disputed, to defend any such suit or proceeding itself;

(q)

to direct the trustee of a religious trust to apply to the appropriate officer or authority to enter in a record of rights or municipal records, if any, the right, title or interest of such trust in any immovable property and, on failure of the trustee to do so within a reasonable time, to make such application itself;

(r)

to realise, in the prescribed manner and subject to the prescribed conditions, out of the income of any religious trust, the cost incurred by the Board in any suit or proceeding instituted by it under clause (o), in defending any suit or proceeding under clause (p) or in making and prosecuting any application under clause (q) in respect of such trust;

(s)

to permit a trustee to retire from his office and, in case the trustee has power to appoint his successor, to permit him to make the appointment in his life time; and [to appoint trustees in vacancies created by the removal under Section 28(2)(h) subject to the wishes of the founder or to a mutual compromise between the Board and the Trust approved by any competent court.] [Words in 'clause(S)' Inserted vide Section 9 by Amendment Act 1 of 2007.]

(t)

to extend, for sufficient reason the time within which any act or thing is required or ordered to be done before the Board under any of the provision of this Act.

(u)

[ to decide all disputes whether any trust is a public or a private trust in accordance with the definition under Section 2(1) of this Act and the decision of the Board shall remain in force until it is set aside by a competent court.] ['Clause (u)' Inserted by Amendment Act 1 of 2007.]

(3)

[ Before passing an order under clause (h) of sub-section (2) the Board shall issue a notice to the trustee communicating to him the ground of his proposed removal and provide him a reasonable time for the reply. Before making an order the Board shall consider the reply, if submitted with the required time and in case of the removal under Section 28(2)(h)(vii), shall obtain the opinion of a Dharmacharya who is well-versed with the tenets of that particular Sect. After the order of the removal is received by the trustee, he may, within ninety days of the communication of such order, apply to the District Judge for varying, modifying or setting aside the order.] ['Sub-section (3)' Substituted by Amendment Act 1 of 2007.]

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