Parsi Times readers will recall that almost a year and a half ago, work in the BPP came to a virtual halt when two of the Trustees – Armaity Tirandaz and Viraf Mehta, refused to sign any Leave & Licence / Tenancy Agreements, mainly on the grounds that they believed that all the agreements should also be signed by Munchi Cama (whose status as a Trustee is still pending before the Charity Commissioner).

In Miscellaneous Petition No. 2 of 2017, Armaity Tirandaz and Viraf Mehta had filed a suit against the majority Trustees of the BPP seeking various reliefs, including access to all documents, minutes, accounts, etc. In the month of March 2017, Consent Terms were filed settling the issues that were raised in the judicial proceedings.

Readers will also recall that agreements were not being registered by the Sub Registrar’s office because of objections raised in writing by Armaity Tirandaz and Viraf Mehta. During the signing of the Consent Terms in March, the two Trustees had assured the court that they would be withdrawing their objections soon after Consent Terms were filed in March 2017. However, this did not happen. It was only on the 22nd of November, 2017 that the Supplemental Consent Terms (SCT) were signed. The following are the extracts from the SCT:

3. Contracts which have been already executed and / or registered

3.1
So far as the 36 Leave and License / Tenancy agreements, listed in Part I of the Schedule annexed hereto, are concerned, the same have been registered with the concerned Sub-Registrar. These contracts have been executed by, or on behalf of, only 4 Trustees of the Respondent No. 1 Trust (being the Respondent Nos. 2 to 5 – hereinafter referred to as the “Majority Trustees”). All these 36 contracts shall be deemed to have been executed by the Petitioners who have not signed the same. The Licensees shall be informed by Respondent No.1 Trust, in the form annexed as Annexure C hereto, within a period of seven days from the date of the order the fact that the said License / Tenancy Agreement is deemed to have been signed by all the Trustees of the Trust except Mr. Cama Whose status as a Trustee is pending adjudication. It is clarified that a copy of the Consent Terms shall not be provided to the Licensees. This would be without prejudice to the contentions by the Majority Trustees that all Trustees are not necessary parties/ signatories to all Leave and License Agreements and / or Tenancy Agreements and / or any document concerning the alienation / disposition of the properties belonging to Respondent No. 1 Trust to be valid and binding upon Respondent No. 1 Trust. This would also be without prejudice to the contentions of the minority Trustees that all Trustees are necessary parties/ signatories to all Leave License/ Tenancy Agreements and/ or any document concerning the alienation/ disposition of properties belonging to Respondent No.1 Trust to be valid and binding upon Respondent No.1 Trust.

3.2
So far as the 42 allotments which have been sanctioned/ approved at the Board meeting/s and allotments made only on basis of Affidavits without registration and payment of stamp duty and which are listed in Part II of the Schedule hereto and all the future allotments, all the Trustees shall execute the agreements / documents relating to the said allotments in a time bound manner, in the absence whereof those Trustees Who are available would be entitled to execute and register the said agreements / documents. It is clarified that once the majority of the Trustees pass a resolution making an allotment and after completing the procedure pertaining to issuance of a public notice inviting objections within 3 weeks’ of issuance of such public notice, if any, the CEO of Respondent No. 1 Trust shall issue a notice (either hard copy or through email) (with a hard copy thereof to the respective Advocates of the Petitioners, viz. M/s. Federal & Rashmikant and the Advocates for the Majority Trustees, viz. M / s. Mulla 82: Mulla Cragie Blunt & Caroe) simultaneously to all the Trustees informing them that the duly signed agreements / documents of the said allotment have been kept ready to be executed at the office of Respondent No.1 Trust subject to Clause 7 of the Consent Terms dated 10th March, 2017. The Trustees undertake within a maximum period of ’10 (ten) days from receipt of the said notice by the said advocates, to attend the office of Respondent No.1 Trust (between 10.30 am. and 6.30 pm.) and execute the said agreements / documents of allotment and make themselves available, either personally or through their constituted attorneys for registration thereof. In the event any of the Trustees do not attend the Trust office and execute the said agreements / documents and make themselves available by themselves or through their constituted attorneys for registration thereof within the said period of 10 days, the said agreements/ documents shall be executed by such of the Trustees who may be available, and lodged for registration in the absence of the other Trustees who do not make themselves available.

3.3
All Trustees agree, confirm and undertake to this Hon’ble Court that hereafter possession/ occupation of any allotted flat to an allottee approved at a board meeting will be given only after payment of stamp duty and execution and registration of proper documents as required in law including Leave & License / Tenancy Agreements.

3.4
The Petitioners hereby agree and undertake to forthwith and in any event within a period of seven days from the date of the order, to withdraw all their letters as also earlier objection to the registration of the leave and license / tenancy agreements sent to the concerned Sub-Registrars. The Petitioners shall in this behalf address to all registration authorities the letters withdrawing their objection, in the form annexed as Annexure D to these Supplemental Consent Terms. The Petitioners undertake to abstain from addressing letters of like nature, objecting to the registration of the Leave and License and Tenancy Agreements of the Respondent No. 1 Trust, to the concerned Sub-Registrars if such agreements are executed and registered in the manner set out in clause 3.2 above. It is “clarified that this shall not apply to intimation of orders, if any, passed by an appropriate court.

The Supplemental Consent Terms have also dealt with, in detail, the procedure and processes to be followed vis-à-vis access by the Trustee to the documents files, accounts, etc of the Wadia Committee of Management.

Here’s hoping that there will be now be peace in the BPP Boardroom, and the beneficiaries and members of the community become the renewed focus of the Trustees, rather than issues that have so far kept the Board divided.