RTI helps senior citizen get post back after 11-year-long legal battle

Source:Viju B, TNN, Mar 22, 2010, 05.25am IST

MUMBAI: Qamar S Qazi’s story could be representative of what may happen to some state charitable trusts that are mired in litigation as trustees fight to retain powerful posts.

The Right To Information (RTI) Act came to the rescue of the 76-year-old Panvel resident who was ousted from the trust after he fought a 11-year-long legal battle. A former assistant commissioner of customs and central excise, Qazi was removed from the post of general secretary of Anjuman Tanzeem Achra, a charitable education trust, through a no-confidence motion in 1999.

But the original papers of the trust’s no-confidence motion, which were kept in the charity commissioner’s office, were substituted with forged papers in alleged collusion with office staff. Following this, the charity commissioner’s office passed an order to oust Qazi.

It was only when Qazi applied to the charity commissioner’s office for a copy of the no-confidence motion that he discovered, to his horror, the documents were substituted. It was found that the attendance lists also had serious discrepancies; many members were dead or their names were fictitious and some were abroad when the ‘alleged’ election took place. “We found out that 80% of the signatures were fake. This was later confirmed by the additional chief state examiner of documents,’’ Qazi said.

On discovering the forgery, Qazi lodged a criminal case against the existing trustees at the additional magistrate’s court, Mazgaon, in 2000. The court directed the Dongri police to investigate the case and the police report established that a forgery had been committed. The court then ordered the police to file a charge sheet. However, despite directives from the magistrate, the charity commissioner’s office did not subsequently take any action on the forgery committed by the existing trustees.

Qazi then filed a query under the RTI Act, asking about the status of the case and it got rolling after 7 years. “Within a month, I got a reply from the charity commissioner, stating that the earlier fake no-confidence motion passed by the trust had been set aside and a fresh inquiry had been initiated against the trustees,’’ he said.

Qazi also filed a writ petition, asking that the inquiry be completed within 30 days. The court directed the petition to be withdrawn, giving him the liberty to approach the appropriate forum.

He then approached the charity commissioner’s office. The deputy charity commissioner set aside the erroneous order of the assistant charity commissioner and again directed another inquiry be initiated. Further, the joint charity commissioner in his February 22 order stated that some members who ‘allegedly’ took part in the no-confidence meeting were not, in fact, present and quashed the earlier order passed by the assistant charity commissioner in 1999. Qazi, who has now regained the post of the general secretary of the trust, said that the RTI Act exposed the fraudulent methods used by the members to remove him from the trust. The RTI Act can bring about positive changes even in the way charitable institutions function in the country, he added.