The prolonged deadlock over the elections, amid an ideological battle for control of the historic institution, stemmed from a disputed voters’ list inflated by 1,467 new members. The court’s ruling is likely to lead to an exclusion of such voters. The poll pits panels led by senior journalist and former Congress MP Kumar Ketkar against former BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
The verdict is a setback to the Ketkar-led panel. That panel challenged the inquiry into the approval of 1,467 new members enrolled and added to the voters’ list after October 3, 2025. However, Sahasrabuddhe claimed the surge in membership showed manipulation by the rival panel.
The high court held approvals of these members lacked proper authorisation. It also held that the Charity Commissioner correctly ordered an inquiry into the society’s affairs, including the disappearance of over 2,000 rare books.
Asiatic Society and its significance
Established in 1804 as a public charitable trust, the Asiatic Society is one of India’s oldest institutions fostering research in history, archaeology, linguistics, and literature. Housed in Mumbai’s Town Hall, its public research library holds a vast collection of rare books, centuries-old manuscripts, and documents, a key repository for scholars and researchers.
Decision in question
On March 13, Charity Commissioner Amogh Kaloti halted elections, citing “serious questions” over voters’ list manipulation and the functioning of the managing committee, following an inspection that revealed missing rare books from the Asiatic Library, and ordered interim oversight through a sub-committee to manage daily affairs until a duly elected Managing Committee is formed.
The Charity Commissioner-appointed observer was tasked to conduct elections within one month of final voters’ list publication, supervised by the Deputy Charity Commissioner.
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Six-month deadlock
Elections for office-bearers’ posts at the Asiatic Society were last held in September 2023. The Annual General Meeting on September 27, 2025, resolved to conduct elections on November 8. The Managing Committee declared the election programme in its October 3, 2025, meeting. This covered posts, including the President, four Vice Presidents, and the Honorary Secretary, for 2025-2027.
It also covered five Managing Committee members for 2025-2028. It included filling a vacancy in Managing Committee for the residual 2025-2027 term.
On November 6, another high court bench quashed a Charity Commissioner’s decision to use the membership list finalised in the September 27 AGM and scrutinised on October 3. The high court, however, clarified it had not decided on the membership issue.
Elections scheduled for November 8 were postponed, primarily due to issues with the voter list. In February this year, the Managing Committee set a March 14 date for polls, using the same nominations, with a rider that members who had paid subscriptions by November 26, 2025, would be eligible voters.
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The issue reached the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, and on February 23 questions were raised over the Society’s workings, with details sought from the Charity Commissioner. An inspection report from February 27 stated that 2,050 books were missing, along with other irregularities. The Charity Commissioner conducted hearings on March 9, 11, and 12 and passed a 50-page order on March 13.
Challenge in high court
Mumbai University professor Deepak Tanaji Pawar, contesting polls, challenged a ‘last-minute’ March 13 decision, issued a day before March 14 elections, in the Bombay High Court. Justice Jitendra S Jain, on March 13, refused a stay, citing concerns over the institution’s functioning.
Ketkar and others, in a separate plea, alleged that no prior notice or Inspector Inquiry Report details were provided to the Society before the 50-page order. They claimed the Commissioner couldn’t interfere in declared elections or discard the approved voters’ list. On April 8, Justice Farhan P Dubash stayed it, finding prima facie merit in the natural justice violation claim.
State’s rebuttal
Advocate General Milind Sathe defended the March 13 order, saying it only mandated fresh elections using nominations frozen for the November 8, 2025, poll. He argued that the Scrutiny Committee, whose tenure ended September 27, 2025, illegally cleared 1,467 memberships from October 16, 2025 ,to March 2026, after elections were announced on October 3. He therefore said a fresh voters’ list was required.
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High court verdict
Justice Dubash, in his April 23 ruling, noted that he was not provided with proper information before the April 8 stay, as the petitioners were not office bearers or managing committee members, and the authority had heard relevant office bearers.
The judge found it “entirely permissible” that the Managing and Scrutiny Committees continued to function post-term. The judge observed that the scrutiny panel, suo motu, recommended 1,467 applications for membership, “despite there being no proper approval thereof by the Managing Committee,” and later included them in the voters’ list.
Thus, Justice Dubash, dismissing the pleas, held that the Charity Commissioner “correctly instituted an inquiry” and that the interim arrangement was made with “sufficient powers” under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act.
