2025 INSC 348 C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 1 of 30

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 13651 OF 2024

THE AUROVILLE FOUNDATION .... APPELLANT

VERSUS

NATASHA STOREY .... RESPONDENT

J U D G M E N T

BELA M. TRIVEDI, J.

1. The legality and validity of the Judgment and Order

dated 15.03.2024 passed by the High Court of

Judicature at Madras in Writ Petition No. 25882 of

2022, allowing the said Writ Petition filed by the

Respondent- Natasha Storey and setting aside the

impugned Notification dated 01.06.2022 containing

the Standing Order No. 01/2022 issued by the

Appellant – Foundation, is under challenge before this

Court by way of instant appeal.

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2. Before adverting to issues involved in the Appeal, it

would be apposite to peep into the history of Auroville,

and the objects and reasons of enacting the Auroville

Foundation Act (hereinafter referred to as the “A.F.

Act”).

3. Prelude on the History of Auroville: -

(I) In 1965, the “Mother” (Mirra Alfassa, a French

Lady), a spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo

(a Spiritual reformer, Philosopher and

Educationist), envisioned to launch the project

of Auroville, with an aim to establish an

international universal township, where men

and women of all countries are able to live in

peace and harmony, above all creeds, all

politics and all nationalities and to realise

human unity. The project of Auroville was

formerly inaugurated by the “Mother” in

28.02.1968. The Charter of Auroville given by

the “Mother” was the following:

“1. Auroville belongs to nobody in

particular. Auroville belongs to humanity

as a whole. But to live in Auroville one

must be a willing servitor of the Divine

Consciousness.

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2. Auroville will be the place of an

unending education, of constant

progress and a youth that never ages.

3. Auroville wants to be the bridge

between the past and the future. Taking

advantage of all discoveries from without

and from within, Auroville will boldly

spring towards future realisations.

4. Auroville will be a site of material and

spiritual researches for a living

embodiment of an actual Human Unity.”

(II) The original Master Plan of the Auroville was

conceptualized in Galaxy shape, and was

planned to eventually accommodate 50,000

residents, a number which the “Mother”

considered sufficient to allow the experiment in

human unity to take on a meaningful and

significant dimension. Picture of Galaxy Model

Plan conceptualized in 1968 is shown below:

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(III) The project Auroville was legally started as the

project of a charitable organization, “The Sri

Aurobindo Society” in Pondicherry, which was

created to diffuse Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts. The

development of Auroville in the initial few years

showed good progress and it further developed

at a rapid pace. Number of Indians and

foreigners settled down in Auroville and devoted

themselves to various activities showing a

remarkable harmony amongst the members of

Auroville, which gave a promise to the

Government of India of an early fulfilment of the

ideals for which Auroville was established. It was

also encouraged by UNESCO and other

International Organizations of the world.

However, after the “Mother” passed away in

1973, the situation changed, and number of

complaints came to be received by the

Government of India with regard to the

mismanagement in the working of the Sri

Aurobindo Society. Following the requests by

majority of Auroville residents, the Government

of India issued a Presidential Ordinance called

the Auroville (Emergency Provisions)

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Ordinance, 1980, later replaced by the Auroville

(Emergency Provisions) Act, 1980. Finally, the

Government of India created a unique status for

Auroville by passing the A.F. Act.

4. The Provisions of A.F. Act: -

(I) The long title of the said A.F. Act of 1988

enacted by the Parliament on 29.09.1988

reads as under:

“THE AUROVILLE FOUNDATION ACT,

1988

ACT NO. 54 OF 1988

[29th September, 1988]

An Act to provide for the acquisition

and transfer of the undertakings of

Auroville and to vest such undertakings

in a foundation established for the

purpose with a view to making long-term

arrangements for the better management

and further development of Auroville in

accordance with its original charter and

for matters connected therewith or

incidental thereto.

WHEREAS Auroville was founded by

the “Mother” on the 28th day of February,

1968 as an international cultural

township;

AND WHEREAS in view of the

serious difficulties which had arisen with

regard to the management of Auroville,

the management thereof had been

vested in the Central Government for a

limited period by the Auroville

(Emergency Provisions) Act, 1980 (59 of

1980);

AND WHEREAS under the

management of the Central Government

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and under the overall guidance of the

International Advisory Council set up

under the aforesaid Act, Auroville had

been able to develop during the last eight

years along several important lines and

the residents of Auroville have also

carried on activities for the development

of Auroville which need further

encouragement and consolidation;

AND WHEREAS Auroville was

developed as a cultural township with the

aid of funds received from different

organisations in and outside India as also

from substantial grants received from the

Central and State Governments, and the

United Nations Educational Scientific

and Cultural Organisation also had, from

time to time, reflected in its resolutions

that the project on Auroville is

contributing to international

understanding and promotion of peace;

AND WHEREAS for the purpose of

encouraging, continuing and

consolidating the aforesaid activities of

Auroville, it is necessary in the public

interest to acquire the undertakings of

Auroville and to vest them in a body

corporate established for the purpose;

BE it enacted by Parliament in the

Thirty-ninth Year of the Republic of India

as follows: —"

(II) The relevant provisions contained in Chapter-

III, germane for the purpose of deciding the

present Appeal are reproduced for ready

reference:

“10. Establishment and incorporation

of the Foundation. —

(1) With effect from such date as the

Central Government may, by notification,

appoint in this behalf, there shall be

established for the purpose of this Act, a

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Foundation, to be called the Auroville

Foundation.

(2) The Foundation shall be a body

corporate by the name aforesaid, having

perpetual succession and a common

seal with power to acquire, hold and

dispose of property, both movable and

immovable, and to contract and shall by

the said name sue and be sued.

(3) The Foundation shall consist of the

following authorities, namely: —

(a) the Governing Board;

(b) the Residents’ Assembly;

(c) the Auroville International Advisory

Council

11. Governing Board. —

(1) The Governing Board shall consist of

the following members, namely: —

(i) not more than seven members to be

nominated by the Central Government

from amongst persons, who have—

(a) rendered valuable service to

Auroville;

(b) dedicated themselves to the ideals of

life-long education, synthesis of material

and spiritual researches or human unity;

(c) contributed significantly in activities

that are being persued or are envisaged

to be promoted in Auroville, including

activities relating to environment,

afforestation, arts and crafts, industry,

agriculture, humanities, sciences and

integral yoga;

(ii) two representatives of the Central

Government to be nominated by it.

(2) The Central Government shall

nominate a Chairman of the Governing

Board from amongst the members

nominated by it under clause (i) of sub-

section (1).

(3) The general superintendence,

direction and management of the affairs

of the Foundation shall vest in the

Governing Board which may exercise all

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the powers and discharge all the

functions which may be exercised or

discharged by the Foundation.

(4) The Governing Board may associate

with itself in such manner and for such

purposes as may be prescribed, any

persons whose assistance or advice it

may desire in complying with any of the

provisions of this Act and a person so

associated shall have the right to take

part in the discussions of the Governing

Board relevant to the purposes for which

he has been associated, but shall not

have the right to vote.

(5) No act or proceeding of the Governing

Board or any committee appointed by it

under section 16 shall be invalidated

merely by reason of, —

(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the

constitution of, the Governing Board or

such committee; or

(b) any defect in the nomination of a

person acting as a member of the

Governing Board or such committee; or

(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the

Governing Board or such committee not

affecting the merits of the case.

12 to 15…………..

16. Committees of the Governing

Board. —

(1) The Governing Board may appoint

such committees as may be necessary

for the efficient discharge of its duties and

performance of its functions under this

Act.

(2) The Governing Board shall have the

power to co-opt as members of any

committee appointed under sub-section

(1), such number of persons who are not

members of the Governing Board as it

may think fit, and the persons so co-

opted shall have the right to attend the

meetings of the committee, and take part

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in the proceedings of the committee, but

shall not have the right to vote.

17. Powers and functions of the

Governing Board. —

The powers and functions of the

Governing Board shall be—

(a) to promote the ideals of Auroville and

to coordinate activities and services of

Auroville in consultation with the

Residents‟ Assembly for the purposes of

cohesion and integration of Auroville;

(b) to review the basic policies and the

programmes of Auroville and give

necessary directions for the future

development of Auroville;

(c) to accord approval to the programmes

of Auroville drawn up by the Residents‟

Assembly;

(d) to monitor and review the activities of

Auroville and to secure proper

management of the properties vested in

the Foundation under section 6 and other

properties relatable to Auroville;

(e) to prepare a master-plan of Auroville

in consultation with the Residents‟

Assembly and to ensure development of

Auroville as so planned;

(f) to authorise and coordinate fund-

raising for Auroville and to secure proper

arrangements for receipts and

disbursement of funds for Auroville.

18. Residents’ Assembly. —

(1) The Residents‟ Assembly shall

consist of all the residents of Auroville

who are for the time being entered in the

register of residents maintained under

this section.

(2) The Secretary to the Governing Board

shall maintain the register of residents in

such manner as may be prescribed and

all the persons who are residents of

Auroville and who are of the age of

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eighteen years and above are entitled to

have their names entered in the register

on an application made to the Secretary

in such form as may be prescribed.

(3) All the names of residents, which

have been included in the register

maintained by the Administrator

appointed under section 5 of the Auroville

(Emergency Provisions) Act, 1980 (59 of

1980) immediately before the appointed

day, shall be deemed to have been

included in the register maintained under

this section.

19. Functions of Residents’ Assembly.

(1) The Resident’s Assembly shall

perform such functions as are required

by this Act and shall advise the

Governing Board in respect of all

activities relating to the residents of

Auroville.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to

the foregoing powers, the Residents‟

Assembly may—

(a) allow the admission or cause the

termination of persons in the register of

residents in accordance with the

regulations made under section 32;

(b) organise various activities relating to

Auroville;

(c) formulate the master plan of Auroville

and make necessary recommendations

for the recognition of organisations

engaged in activities relatable to

Auroville for the approval of the

Governing Board;

(d) recommend proposals for raising

funds for Auroville for the approval of the

Governing Board.

(3) For the purpose of carrying of its

functions, the Residents‟ Assembly may

establish such committees as it may

consider necessary which shall

represent it in relation to the functions to

be performed by the Governing Board.”

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(III) Section 31 empowers the Central Government

to make rules for carrying out the provisions of

the A.F. Act. Accordingly, the Ministry of Human

Resource Development (Department of

Education) vide the notification dated

10.11.1997 has framed the rules called the

“Auroville Foundation Rules, 1997 (hereinafter

referred to as the said “A.F. Rules”) in exercise

of the powers conferred by Section 31 of the

A.F. Act.

Rule 5 of the said Rules states about the

Committees of the Foundation, which reads as

under: -

“5. Committees

(1) The following shall be the

Committees of the Foundation, namely –

(a)………

(b)……..

(c) Such other Committee or committees

as may be constituted by the Governing

Board under sub-section (1) of section 16

or by the Residents Assembly under sub-

section (3) of section 19, as the case may

be

(2) Subject to the provision of sub-

rule (1), the Governing Board shall

determine the composition and functions

of every Committee constituted by it

(3) The Residents’ Assembly shall

determine the composition and functions

of every Committee constituted by it

(4)………..”

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(IV) Section 32 of the A.F. Act empowers the

Governing Board to make regulations not in

consistent with the Act and the Rules made

thereunder, for enabling the Governing Board

to discharge its functions under the Act.

5. Constitution of Auroville Foundation and its

Standing Orders-

I. The Government of India notified the Constitution

of Auroville Foundation as a Statutory body on

29.01.1991 under the A.F. Act. At present it is

under the realm of Ministry of Human

Resources Development (Department of

Higher Education) as the Central Government

Undertaking.

II. As transpiring from the record, the original

Galaxy Plan envisioned by the “Mother” in

1968 was the plan with four zones in Auroville,

with the centripetal force, being the

“Matrimandir”. The said Galaxy Plan was

revised in 1972 as the First Master Plan called

the “Town Plan”. As the A.F. Act required

statutory Master Plan as contemplated in

Section 17(e) read with Section 19(2)(c) of the

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said A.F. Act, the Master Plan was approved by

the Governing Board and the Residents’

Assembly of the Appellant Foundation in 1999.

The said 1999 Master Plan was further

approved by the Competent Authority- the

Town and Country Planning Organisation

(TCPO), Ministry of Urban Development, on

15.02.2001 under the Model Town and Country

Planning Act. The said Master Plan was

notified on 16.08.2010 and published in the

Gazette on 28.08.2010.

III. In view of Section 11(3) of the A.F. Act, the

Governing Board decided, that “Standing

Orders” not inconsistent with the provisions of

the A.F. Act and the Rules made thereunder, on

the matters that the Governing Board may

consider appropriate and necessary, shall be

notified from time to time, by the Auroville

Foundation. The said Resolution was notified

in the Gazette of India, Part III, dated

05.03.2011 by the Ministry of Human

Resources Development (Department of

Higher Education).

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IV. Since the said approved Master Plan

prescribed the “Town Development Council” as

the body for implementing the Master Plan with

the organizational structure as in Appendix V of

the Master Plan, the Governing Board in terms

of the provisions of the Master Plan,

constituted the Town Development Council for

the purpose of implementation of the Master

Plan, vide the Standing Order No.6/2011 dated

01.05.2011, which was notified in the

Government of India Gazette, Part III, dated

11.06.2011. The said Standing Order dated

01.05.2011 came to be replaced by the

Standing Order No.1/2019 dated 04.06.2019.

V. Again, the said Standing Order dated

04.06.2019 came to be replaced by the

Standing Order No.1/2022 dated 01.06.2022,

which was notified in the Gazette of India, Part

III, on 15.07.2022. On 01.06.2022, the Auroville

Foundation issued the Office Order for the re-

constitution of the Auroville Town Development

Council (ATDC). The Appellant-Foundation

thereafter also issued a Corrigendum dated

07.12.2022, to the Standing Order No. 1/2022

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dated 01.06.2022, in order to clarify and add

the source of statutory power in the Preamble

to the said original Standing Order dated

01.06.2022. The said Corrigendum was also

published in the Gazette of India, Part III, on

10.12.2022.

6. Series of Litigations: -

It appears that some disgruntled residents of

Auroville, instead of cooperating the Governing

Board of the Foundation in the implementation of the

said legally approved Master Plan and in carrying out

the development work of Auroville as per the said

Master Plan envisioned by the “Mother,” started

causing obstructions by filing the Petitions in the High

Court of Judicature at Madras one after the other,

dragging the Appellant-Foundation into unnecessary

litigations. As transpiring from the records, the

following litigations came to be filed.

(i) A Writ Petition being No.17181/2020 came to

be filed by one Mr. M. A yyanarappan,

challenging some of the clauses of Auroville

Master Plan 2010 after the years of its approval

and publication in the Official Gazette. The said

petition came to be dismissed as withdrawn by

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 16 of 30

the Division Bench of the High Court vide the

order dated 15.02.2022.

(ii) Two other petitions being Writ Petition

No.18220/2021 and Writ Petition No.597/2022

came to be filed by the petitioner Mr. A. Suriya,

the son of the earlier petitioner Mr. M.

Ayyanarappan, challenging some of the

clauses of Auroville Master Plan, 2010, and for

restraining the Appellant-Foundation from

implementing the Auroville Master Plan

Perspective 2025. The said two petitions came

to be dismissed as withdrawn by the Division

Bench vide the order dated 20.01.2022,

granting liberty to the said petitioner to avail the

remedy in accordance with law against the

infraction of his personal interest.

(iii) The said Writ Petitioner, Mr. A. Suriya filed

another Writ Petition No.12378/2022 again

challenging some of the clauses of the

Auroville Universal Township Master Plan

Perspective 2025. The said Writ Petition came

to be dismissed by the Division Bench by

passing a detailed order on 07.06.2022, on the

ground of maintainability and delay of more

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 17 of 30

than 12 years in challenging the Gazette

Notification dated 28.08.2010. It was also

observed therein by the Division Bench inter

alia that the Master Plan cannot otherwise be

subjected to challenge unless it is carved out in

violation of the Constitutional or Statutory

provisions.

(iv) Some o ther Writ Petitions being

No.11738/2022 and others came to be filed by

one Krishna Devanandan and Others in

respect of the functioning of the Appellant-

Foundation, particularly on the imposition of

restrictions on the Residents’ Assembly for

non-updation of the Register of the Residents.

It appears that the said petitions came to be

allowed by the Single Bench vide the order

dated 12.08.2022 issuing various directions

including the directions to the Secretary of

Auroville Foundation to give wide publicity of its

effective administration for updation of the

Register of the Residents Assembly, and

further directing the four statutory bodies of the

Foundation not to take any policy decision

which would alter the existing structure and

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working of the Auroville Foundation, till the

Register of the Residents’ Assembly was

updated. The said order passed by the Single

Bench having been challenged by the

Appellant-Foundation before the Division

Bench, the same was stayed by the Division

Bench vide the orders dated 26.08.2022, in

W.A.No.1961-1962/2022. The said interim

order was continued till the disposal of the

Appeals on 09.09.2022.

(v) The Respondent herein i.e. Natasha Storey

filed the Writ Petition being No. 22895/2022

challenging the office order dated 01.06.2022

bearing no. AF/M/63 issued by the Appellant-

Foundation and seeking direction against the

Foundation to appoint the members nominated

by the Residents’ Assembly through its working

Council to the ATDC. The said petition came to

be dismissed by the Single Bench vide the

order dated 13.10.2022, however the Court

directed the Appellant-Foundation to issue

appropriate corrigendum to the impugned

office order dated 01.06.2022, tracing the

power under which the said order was issued.

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The Foundation accordingly issued the

Corrigendum dated 07.12.2022 to the Standing

Order dated 01.06.2022.

(vi) The Respondent Natasha Storey again filed

the Writ Petition being no. 25882/2022 seeking

almost the same relief as sought in the earlier

petition, challenging the notification no.

AF/M/63/2022-23 dated 01.06.2022 containing

the Standing Order No.1/2022 issued by the

Appellant-Foundation, published in the official

gazette on 15.07.2022. The Division Bench

vide the impugned judgment and order dated

15.03.2024 allowed the said Writ Petition and

set aside the said impugned Notification and

the Standing Order issued by the Appellant-

Foundation.

(vii) This Appeal emanates from the said impugned

judgment and order dated 15.03.2024, passed

in the Writ Petition No.25882/2002.

(viii) It may also be noted that the Respondent-

Natasha had also filed an application as an

intervenor, in the proceedings being O.A.

No.239/2021 filed by one Navroz Kersasp

Mody before the National Green Tribunal,

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Chennai. The Appeals being C.A.s Nos. 5781-

5782/22 arising out of the orders passed by the

NGT in the said proceedings, were also heard

simultaneously by this Court, along with the

present Appeal, and are being decided

simultaneously by a separate judgment.

7. ANALYSIS

From the above array of litigations, it is explicitly clear

that a small group of disgruntled residents of Auroville,

who instead of supporting and cooperating the

Governing Body of Appellant-Foundation, in

implementing the approved Master Plan and

developing Auroville as envisioned by the “Mother,”

kept themselves busy by filing the litigations one after

the other, and causing obstructions in the smooth

implementation of the Master Plan. As narrated

hereinabove one Mr. Suriya and his father filed series

of petitions one after the other. They all came to be

dismissed by the High Court. Then the present

Respondent-Natasha Storey herself filed Writ Petition

No. 22895 of 2022 seeking almost the same relief as

sought in the Writ Petition of the present proceedings,

challenging the Office Order dated 01.06.2022 issued

by the Appellant-Foundation. The said earlier Writ

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Petition having been dismissed by the High Court vide

the Order dated 13.10.2022, again she filed the Writ

Petition No. 25882 of 2022, without disclosing the fact

of her filing of the earlier petition, and the dismissal of

the same. The Appellant-Foundation (who was

respondent in the said Writ Petition) had raised

specific preliminary objections in its counter affidavit

regarding the maintainability of the petition and

regarding the suppression of material facts by the

respondent.

8. However, unfortunately the High Court without dealing

with such a serious issue, entertained the Writ Petition

of the respondent.

9. It is no more res integra that the Doctrine of “Clean

hands and non-suppression of material facts” is

applicable with full force to every proceedings before

any judicial forum. The party invoking extraordinary

jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the

Constitution of India must come with clean hands and

disclose all correct and material facts in his Writ

Petition. If it is brought to the notice of the Court that

the petition has been guilty of suppression of material

and relevant facts or has not come with clean hands,

such conduct must be seriously viewed by the courts

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as the abuse of process of law and the petition must

be dismissed on that ground alone without entering

into the merits of the matter.

10. As held in S.J.S. Business Enterprises (P) Ltd. Vs.

State of Bihar & Ors.

1

, as a general rule, suppression

of material fact by a litigant disqualifies such litigant

from obtaining any relief. This rule has been evolved

out of the need of the Courts to deter a litigant from

abusing the process of court by deceiving it. Similar

view has been taken in General Manager, Haryana

Roadways Vs. Jai Bhagwan & Anr.

2

, in Prestige

Lights Ltd. Vs. State Bank of India

3

etc.

11. In the instant case, the Respondent-Natasha Storey

had challenged the Office Order dated 01.06.2022 by

filing the earlier Writ Petition No. 22895 of 2022, and

the High Court while dismissing the same vide its

Order dated 13.10.2022 had categorically held, after

considering the various provisions of the A.F. Act, that

the activities which are provided under Section 19 of

the Act, to be undertaken by the Residents’ Assembly

are only in the nature of supplementing and not

supplanting the main powers and functions vested

1

AIR 2004 SC 2421

2

(2008) 4 SCC 127

3

(2007) 8 SCC 449

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 23 of 30

with the Governing Board under the provisions of the

Act, and that the writ petitioner could not claim that

she being a member of the Assembly, the right of the

Assembly was getting affected, or the functions of the

Assembly as entrusted through the provisions of the

Act were getting affected. Despite the fact that the

said judgment and order passed in Writ Petition No.

22895 of 2022 was not challenged by the respondent

any further, and had become final, the second Writ

Petition was filed by her (i.e., Writ Petition no.

25882/2022 in the present proceedings), seeking

substantially the same reliefs without disclosing the

said material fact of dismissal of earlier petition. The

non-disclosure of the material facts at the instance of

the respondent should have been seriously viewed by

the High Court, as the abuse of the process of court.

12. So far as the merits of the Appeal are concerned, the

learned Senior Advocate Mr. R. Venkatramani for the

appellant had strenuously taken the court to the

record of the case from which it appears that the

Appellant-Foundation is a Statutory body established

under the A.F. Act, and is under the realm of the

Government of India, in the Ministry of Human

Resource Development (Department of Education).

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The said Foundation consists of three authorities i.e.,

(a) The Governing Board (b) The Residents’ Assembly

(c) The Auroville International Advisory Council. As

per Section 11(3), the general superintendence,

direction and management of the affairs of the

Foundation vest in the Governing Board, which is

empowered to exercise all the powers and discharge

all the functions which may be exercised or

discharged by the Foundation. Section 16 of the Act

empowers the Governing Board to appoint such

Committees as may be necessary for the efficient

discharge of its duties and performance of its

functions under the Act. The powers and functions of

the Governing Board are prescribed in Section 17.

Clause (e) of Section 17 pertains to the preparation of

Master Plan of Auroville in consultation with the

Residents’ Assembly, and to ensure development of

Auroville as so planned. Meaning thereby, as per

Section 17(e), the Governing Board was required to

prepare a Master Plan of Auroville in consultation with

the Residents’ Assembly, and further to ensure

development of Auroville as per the said Master Plan.

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13. As already discussed earlier, the Master Plan of

Auroville as envisioned and envisaged by the

“Mother” as an international universal Township

dedicated to human unity and international

understanding, described by her in the Auroville

Charter, was approved by the Governing Board in

consultation with the Residents’ Assembly and was

further approved by the Government of India in

Ministry of Human Resource Development

(Department of Higher Education) vide the letter dated

12.04.2001. It was also notified by the Auroville

Foundation with the approval of the Central

Government, in the Gazette of India, Part III on

16.08.2010. It was only to ensure the development of

Auroville as per the said approved Master Plan, the

Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC) was

constituted as per the Standing Order dated

01.05.2011 issued by the Governing Board. The said

Standing Order was replaced by the Standing Order

No. 01 of 2019 dated 04.06.2019, and the said

Standing Order No. 01 of 2019 has been further

replaced by the Standing Order No. 01 of 2022 dated

01.06.2022 vide the Notification published in the

Gazette of India dated 15.07.2022.

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 26 of 30

14. Though it was sought to be submitted by the learned

counsel Mr. M.V. Swaroop appearing for the

Respondent-Writ Petitioner that the impugned

Standing Order replacing the nominees of the

Residents’ Assembly with the nominees of Governing

Board of the Foundation was not in consonance with

the provisions of the said Act and that the Governing

Board did not have the power to appoint any

committee of its own as contained in the impugned

Standing Order dated 01.06.2022 and the Office

Order dated 01.06.2022, we do not find any

substance in the same. The ATDC was constituted

and reconstituted from time to time by the Governing

Board by issuing the Standing Orders, for the proper

implementation of the approved Master Plan. It may

be noted that in view of Section 11(3), the Governing

Board vide the Regulation No.AF/1/2011/Regulations,

had also decided that “Standing Orders, not in

consistent with the provisions of the Act and the Rules

made thereunder, and without prejudice to the

generality of the laws enacted by the Parliament of

India and/or the legislatures of the States and the

Indian Territory, on all the matters covered by the

provisions of Section 11(3), and also such other

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 27 of 30

matters that Governing Board may consider

appropriate and necessary, shall be notified by the

Auroville Foundation from time to time. The said

Regulation was also notified in the Government of

India Gazette on 05.03.2011. The said Regulation

clearly empowered the Governing Board of the

Appellant-Foundation to issue the Standing Orders on

all the matters covered by the provisions of Section

11(3) as also such other matters that the Governing

Board may consider appropriate and necessary.

15. Further, Section 16 of the Act also empowers the

Governing Board to appoint such committees as may

be necessary for the efficient discharge of its duties

and performance of its functions under the Act. Even

as per Rule 5 of the said Rules, the Governing Board

is empowered to constitute the committees under sub-

section (1) of Section 16. As per Rule 5(2), it is the

Governing Board alone which has to determine the

composition and functions of every committee

constituted by it. Neither the said A.F. Act nor the said

Rules contemplate or confer any right upon the

Residents’ Assembly, much less upon an individual

resident of Auroville to be part of any committee or

council constituted by the Governing Board for the

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 28 of 30

efficient discharge of its duties and functions under the

Act.

16. From the conjoint reading of the provisions of the A.F.

Act and the said Rules, there remains no shadow of

doubt that the Governing Board is vested with all the

powers and is empowered to discharge all the

functions as may be exercised or discharged by the

Foundation, and that the general superintendence,

direction and management of the affairs of the

Foundation vests in the Governing Board alone.

Though, it is true that Section 19(1)(c) required the

Residents’ Assembly to assist the Governing Board to

formulate the Master Plan of Auroville, however, the

said stage was already over, when the Master Plan

was prepared by the Governing Board in consultation

with the Residents’ Assembly as contemplated in

Section 17(e), and was then approved by the Central

Government, Ministry of Human Resource

Development way back in 2001. After the publication

of the said Master Plan, the Governing Board had

issued the Standing Orders from time to time for the

implementation of the said approved Master Plan and

for the development of Auroville as planned.

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 29 of 30

17. Having regard to the statutory provisions in the Act

and the Rules, we are of the opinion that the

impugned Standing Order 01.06.2022 containing the

Standing Order No. 01/2022 does not suffer from any

legal infirmity. There is no legal or statutory right

conferred upon the Residents’ Assembly or upon an

individual resident to be part of any committee/council

constituted by the Governing Board in exercise of its

powers conferred under Section 11(3), 16(1) and

17(e) of the said Act read with Rule 5(1) and 5(2) of

the said Rules. The functions of the Residents’

Assembly are confined only to advise the Governing

Board in respect of the activities relating to the

residents of Auroville and to make recommendations

as specified in Section 19 of the Act, and not any

further.

18. In that view of the matter, we are of the opinion that

the High Court has thoroughly misdirected itself in

misinterpreting the provisions of the A.F. Act and in

setting aside the impugned Notification containing the

Standing Order dated 01.06.2022. The impugned

Order being highly erroneous deserves to be set

aside, and is hereby set aside.

C.A. No.13651 of 2024 Page 30 of 30

19. As demonstrated earlier, some disgruntled and

discontented residents kept on filing petitions one

after the other dragging the Appellant-Foundation into

unnecessary litigations. The Writ Petition filed by the

respondent before the High Court was one of such ill-

motivated petitions filed by her to abuse the process

of law, to hamper the development of Auroville and to

cause obstructions in the smooth functioning of the

Governing Board of the Foundation. Hence, the

Appeal is allowed with cost of Rs.50,000/- to be

deposited by the respondent before the Supreme

Court Legal Service Committee within two weeks from

today. The office to follow the compliance.

20. The Appeal stands allowed accordingly.

....….....…………………J.

[BELA M. TRIVEDI]

....…......…………..……… .J.

[PRASANNA B. VARALE]

NEW DELHI;

17

th

MARCH, 2025