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Journalism of Courage
The Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra on Tuesday ordered an extension of status quo till October 30 in the controversial sale of the Seth HND Jain Boarding Hostel by Seth Hirachand Nemchand Smarak Trust to Gokhale Constructions, to allow respondents to file replies. The court had earlier ordered a status quo on October 20. Meanwhile, both the trust and the construction company have agreed to cancel the sale of the property after prolonged controversy.
The sale of the property containing a Jain boarding hostel and a Mahavir Digambar Jain Temple has come under fire in the past few weeks. Pune MP Muralidhar Mohol has also come under fire for his alleged connections to Gokhale Construction. Mohol has said he parted ways with the company over 11 months ago.
Advocate Yogesh Pande, representing petitioner Sukaushal Jinturkar, told The Indian Express, “In today’s hearing there were no arguments on legal points but just generalised arguments, since both the parties have agreed to withdraw from the sale. The extension has been given because the counsel for Gokhale said they wanted to file a reply since there are allegations. Now it will be decided on October 30.”
Agreeing with Gokhale Construction’s decision to cancel the sale, the trustees of the trust, in an application filed before the Charity Commissioner, said, “The Trustees reaffirmed that the transaction had been carried out transparently, after following the due process of law, and with the sole objective of redevelopment of the ageing hostel premises and optimum utilisation of the asset and the funds in furtherance of objectives of the Trust.”
“Neverheless, keeping in view the circumstances and the larger interest of maintaining communal harmony, transparency, and public confidence, and the desire to protect the long standing reputation of the Trust, the Trustees resolved unanimously to accept the Purchaser’s proposal for cancellation of the Sale,” the application continued.
Gokhale Construction in a statement late on Sunday said that it was opting to cancel the deal in view of the controversy. Chairman Vishal Gokhale in a statement said, “The temple present there is sacred to us as well and we respect the sentiments of the Jain brothers regarding the temple. Therefore, respecting the sentiments of the Jain community and the hostel building, we have decided to exit this project. Accordingly, we have sent a letter to the Seth Hirachand Nemchand Digambar Jain Boarding Trust via email requesting that legal proceedings be initiated to cancel the said transaction.”
In response to this development, state Youth Congress general secretary Akshay Jain, who has led the protest against the sale, said, “We started this fight on May 14 with just 10 alumni. For the first three months, no one was with us. People did not believe us, but as the documents started coming out, people of all faiths started coming along. And today, thanks to the strength of the media, all those who were with us, this fight has reached its final stage.”
