Sections 14 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
This article explains the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 as it applies in the State of Maharashtra, formerly the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. Sections 14 to 16 set up the machinery for registration: the State is divided into regions and sub-regions, each has a Public Trusts Registration Office, the State Government can open offices in districts, and a Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner is put in charge of the office.
This article explains sections 14, 15, 15A and 16 as amended up to Maharashtra Act No. XXXVI of 2018 (in force 21 May 2018), per the official text of the Law and Judiciary Department modified up to 19 December 2018. Maharashtra amended the Act again in 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2025; the amending texts consulted do not change these sections, but the current text should be checked on the Charity Commissioner's website before relying on them.
The State Government forms regions and sub-regions and sets their limits, and every region and alteration must be notified in the Official Gazette (s.14). Every region or sub-region has a Public Trusts Registration Office; one office may serve two or more regions, and a region may have one or more Joint Public Trusts Registration Offices (s.15). The State may set up offices in districts (s.15A) and appoints a Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner in charge of one or more offices (s.16).
Section 14: regions and sub-regions
Under section 14(1) the State Government may, "for the purposes of this Act", form regions and sub-regions and "prescribe and alter limits" of them. Section 14(2) adds that the regions and sub-regions, with their limits and every alteration of those limits, "shall be notified in the Official Gazette".
Two practical points follow. A trust's region is a matter of notification, so the Gazette is the authority for the limits; a trust cannot choose its region. And limits can change: a region altered by notification may move a district or taluka from one office to another. A trust should therefore check the latest notification before sending papers to an office, and trustees who want the route confirmed can use compliance documentation support first.
The Charity Commissioner's powers over regions also appear elsewhere. A Joint Charity Commissioner may be declared the regional head of one or more regions or sub-regions (see Sections 3 and 3A).
Section 15: the Public Trusts Registration Office
Section 15 states that "in every region or sub-region there shall be a Public Trusts Registration Office". The two provisos give the State flexibility:
- First proviso: for two or more regions or sub-regions, there may be one Public Trusts Registration Office.
- Second proviso: for one region or sub-region, there may be one or more Joint Public Trusts Registration Offices.
| Situation | What section 15 allows |
|---|---|
| One region or sub-region | At least one Public Trusts Registration Office |
| Two or more small regions | One office may serve all of them (first proviso) |
| A busy region | One or more Joint Public Trusts Registration Offices (second proviso) |
So a trust cannot assume that every region has its own separate office, or that each region has only one; the notifications and orders of the State Government show how it has been arranged.
Section 15A: offices in districts
Section 15A, inserted by Mah. 20 of 1971, s. 7 (as the footnote prints), says: "To facilitate the administrative work of the regions and sub-regions, the State Government may set up offices in all the districts under any region or sub-region." Section 15A is a power ("may"), not a duty, and it speaks of "offices" without calling them Public Trusts Registration Offices. It is meant to ease the administrative work. If a district office exists, it is useful for dealing with local papers; whether a given paper must go to the Registration Office or may go to a district office depends on the provision under which it is filed and the instructions of the Charity Commissioner's office. This article does not set out those instructions.
Section 16: the officer in charge
Section 16 provides that the State Government "may appoint a Deputy Charity Commissioner or Assistant Charity Commissioner to be in charge of one or more Public Trusts Registration Offices or Joint Public Trusts Registration Offices". The officer in charge is the person to whom the registration-related provisions of Chapter IV refer. Later sections speak of "the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner", and the officer in charge of the office is the officer who carries out those functions for the trusts of that office. Deputy and Assistant Charity Commissioners are appointed under section 5, which is not set out in this article.
The sections that follow Chapter IV's opening group are not set out here: the books, indices and registers (section 17), the application for registration (section 18), the inquiry (section 19) and the entries in the register (section 21). Please read those in the current official text. The findings recorded after the inquiry are explained in Section 20.
Illustration. A temple trust in a taluka of Satara wants to know where to send its papers. The trustees check three things in order: the Gazette notification that places Satara in a region or sub-region, the Public Trusts Registration Office (or Joint Public Trusts Registration Office) that serves that region, and the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner in charge of that office. They then keep a written note of the notification they relied on, so that a later change in limits does not cause confusion.
Why this matters
When a paper goes to the wrong office, time is lost, and a deadline measured in months can be missed while the paper is redirected. The Act gives the structure; the current list of regions, sub-regions and offices comes from the Gazette and the Charity Commissioner's website. For the practical steps of registering a public trust in Maharashtra, see how to register a public trust with the Charity Commissioner, and to understand the next stage, read Section 20.
Need help with filings to the right office?
Our team prepares and checks the documents that go to a Public Trusts Registration Office, and keeps a record of the notifications relied on. If your trust is unsure which office applies or what to file, contact us about compliance documentation.
Key takeaways
- The State Government forms regions and sub-regions and alters their limits; each is notified in the Official Gazette (s.14).
- Each region or sub-region has a Public Trusts Registration Office; offices can be shared, and joint offices can be added (s.15).
- District offices may be set up (s.15A, inserted in 1971).
- A Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner is appointed in charge of one or more offices (s.16).
- The sections on registers, the application, the inquiry and the entries (17, 18, 19, 21) are not set out in this article.
Read next
- Section 20: findings of the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner on registration
- Sections 23 to 25: property in several regions, stay of inquiry and the one-officer rule
- How to register a public trust with the Charity Commissioner
- Sections 3 and 3A: the Charity Commissioner and the Joint Charity Commissioners
Disclaimer: Based on the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 as modified up to 19 December 2018 in the official text of the Law and Judiciary Department, Government of Maharashtra, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Maharashtra amended the Act again in 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2025; the current text, the Maharashtra Public Trusts Rules and the Charity Commissioner's circulars should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.