Sections 80 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. Section 80 stops a Civil Court from deciding a question that the Act leaves to an officer whose decision it makes final and conclusive; section 81 protects the State Government and its officers from suits and prosecutions for things done in good faith under the Act.
This article explains sections 80 and 81 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.
Section 80: "Save as expressly provided in this Act, no Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with any question which is by or under this Act to be decided or dealt with by any officer or authority under this Act", where the officer's decision or order has been made final and conclusive. Section 81: no suit, prosecution or other proceeding may be instituted against the State Government or any officer or authority or representative of the Charity Commissioner for anything done in good faith or purporting to be done under the Act.
What changed and when
In section 80, the words "and in respect of" were substituted for "or in respect of" by Mah. 20 of 1971, s. 54. In section 81, the brackets and figures "(1)" were deleted by Mah. 20 of 1971, s. 55(1), the words "or representative of the Charity Commissioner" were inserted by Mah. 8 of 1985, s. 5, and the former sub-section (2) was deleted by Mah. 20 of 1971, s. 55(2), as the footnotes print. Section 82, which follows these sections, is a separate section and is not described here.
Section 80: bar of jurisdiction
"Save as expressly provided in this Act, no Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with any question which is by or under this Act to be decided or dealt with by any officer or authority under this Act, and in respect of which the decision or order of such officer or authority has been made final and conclusive."
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| General rule | No Civil Court has jurisdiction |
| Subject | "any question which is by or under this Act to be decided or dealt with by any officer or authority under this Act" |
| Further condition | The officer's "decision or order ... has been made final and conclusive" |
| Exception | "Save as expressly provided in this Act" |
The bar has three conditions that must exist together: the Act gives the question to an officer or authority, the officer's decision has been made final and conclusive, and the Act has not expressly provided otherwise. So not every matter under the Act is closed to the Civil Court. A matter that the Act sends to the Court, for example the suits explained in Section 50 and the appeals to the Court from the Charity Commissioner's orders in several sections, remains with the Court because the Act says so expressly.
An example of a question left to an officer is the question whether a trust exists, whether it is a public trust and whether particular property is its property, which the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner decides under section 79: see Sections 78 and 79. A party who goes to a Civil Court for a declaration on that question, instead of using the Act's route, may meet the bar. Parties facing such a choice of forum can take legal dispute resolution advice before filing.
The section does not say what happens to a suit already filed in breach of the bar, and it prints no procedure. It does not remove the Court's role in the suits and appeals that the Act sends to it.
Section 81: indemnity
"No suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall be instituted against the State Government or any officer or authority or representative of the Charity Commissioner in respect of anything in good faith done or purporting to be done under this Act."
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Protected persons | "the State Government or any officer or authority or representative of the Charity Commissioner" |
| Proceedings barred | "suit, prosecution or other proceeding" |
| Condition | The thing is "in good faith done or purporting to be done under this Act" |
Three features stand out. The protection covers the State Government as well as officers and authorities, and, by the 1985 insertion, a representative of the Charity Commissioner. It covers prosecutions and "other proceeding", not only suits. And it depends on good faith. The section does not define good faith or say who has to prove it. An act done in bad faith, or an act done outside the Act, is not protected by the words of the section.
The words "purporting to be done" extend the cover to acts that appear to be under the Act even if they were not strictly within the officer's power, so long as they were done in good faith.
A trustee or interested person who is aggrieved by an act of an officer should therefore use the Act's own appeal and revision routes, such as Section 70, before thinking of a suit.
Illustration. A trust in Thane is told by the Assistant Charity Commissioner, after an inquiry, that a plot is the property of a public trust. The family that claims the plot files a suit in the Civil Court for a declaration that the plot is theirs. The Court looks at section 80: the question is one the Act leaves to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner, and the Act provides an appeal to the Charity Commissioner; the family is directed to use that route. In a separate matter, a trustee sues an Inspector personally for entering the trust's premises under the inspection power. If the Inspector acted in good faith under the Act, section 81 bars the suit.
Need help choosing the right forum?
Choosing between the Charity Commissioner's office, an appeal and the Civil Court decides whether a case survives. Our team can advise on the forum and appear through legal dispute resolution services.
Key takeaways
- Section 80 bars the Civil Court from deciding a question that the Act leaves to an officer or authority whose decision has been made final and conclusive, save as expressly provided in the Act.
- The Act's express routes to the Court, such as suits under section 50, remain.
- Section 81 bars suits, prosecutions and other proceedings against the State Government and officers, authorities and representatives of the Charity Commissioner for acts done in good faith under the Act.
- Good faith is the condition; the section does not define it.
Read next
- Sections 78 and 79: deciding whether a trust exists and is a public trust
- Section 50: suits relating to public trusts
- Section 70: appeals from the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner
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.