Sections 85 and 86 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 85 and 86 deal with what happens to older laws when this Act comes to apply to a trust: the Religious Endowments Act, 1863 is repealed, listed laws stop applying to the trusts the Act reaches, rights and pending proceedings are saved, and records are moved to the Charity Commissioner.
This article explains sections 85 and 86 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 rule-making section, section 84, is a separate section and is not described here.
Section 85: the Religious Endowments Act, 1863 is repealed; on the date the Act is applied to a trust or class of trusts under section 1(4), the Acts in Schedule A stop applying to it. Rights, liabilities, proceedings and things done before that date are saved, pending proceedings under three older Acts are transferred to the Charity Commissioner, and their records go to him. Section 86: three further laws stand repealed in the area to which the Act was extended; the Schedule AA Acts stop applying on the date of application; savings and substitution of the Charity Commissioner in pending court cases follow.
What changed and when
Section 85's references to "Schedule A" were substituted for "the Schedule" by Bom. 14 of 1951, s. 17. The opening words of sub-section (2) and the phrase "the said date" were substituted or inserted by Bom. 28 of 1953, s. 18(1) and (2); sub-sections (4) and (5) were added by Bom. 28 of 1953, s. 18(3). Section 86 was added by Bom. 6 of 1960, s. 40. The older laws named below are quoted as printed in the 2018 text; the reader should check the law now in force on each of them, and no replacement is named here. The application of the Act to a trust under section 1(4) is explained in Section 1.
Section 85(1) and (2): repeal and cessation
"(1) The Religious Endowments Act, 1863, is hereby repealed."
"(2) On the date of the application of the provisions of this Act to any public trust or class of public trusts under sub-section (4) of section 1 (hereafter in this section referred to as the said date) the provisions of the Act specified in Schedule A which apply to such trust or class of trusts shall cease to apply to such trust or class of trusts."
The first sub-section is a repeal of one Act. The second is a cessation, trust by trust: the Acts listed in Schedule A stop applying to a trust only from "the said date", which is the date the Act is applied to that trust or class. The Acts in Schedule A are listed in Schedules A and AA. A trust that was registered under one of those Acts is dealt with in Sections 28 and 28A. Trustees and advisers who need to trace which older law governed a trust before the Act applied can take legal consultation on the question.
Section 85(3): savings
"Save as otherwise provided in this section such repeal or cessation shall not in any way affect—"
| Clause | What is saved |
|---|---|
| (a) | "any right, title, interest, obligation or liability already acquired, accrued or incurred before the said date" |
| (b) | "any legal proceedings or remedy in respect of such right, title, interest, obligation or liability" |
| (c) | "anything duly done or suffered before the said date" |
The savings protect what had already happened under the older law, so that the repeal or cessation does not undo old rights, liabilities, proceedings or acts.
Section 85(4) and (5): pending proceedings and records
Sub-section (4) says that, "notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (5)" (the printed words), all proceedings pending before any authority immediately before the said date "under the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 (as amended by the Mussalman Wakf (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1935), the Bombay Public Trusts Registration Act, 1935, or the Parsi Public Trusts Registration Act, 1936" shall be transferred to the Charity Commissioner, who continues and disposes of them himself or through the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner as he directs. In disposing of such proceedings the officer has "the same powers which were vested in and exercised by the Court under the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 ... and by the Registrars under the Bombay Public Trusts Registration Act, 1935, and the Parsi Public Trusts Registration Act, 1936, and shall pass such orders as may be just or proper." Sub-section (5) transfers all records maintained by the authority or Court under those Acts to the Charity Commissioner or to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner as he directs.
Section 86: further repeals and savings
Sub-section (1). "On the commencement of this Act in that area of the State to which it is extended by the Bombay Public Trusts (Unification and Amendment) Act, 1959" three laws "shall stand repealed":
- "the Religious Endowments Act, 1863, as in force in the Saurashtra and Kutch areas of the State";
- "the Madhya Pradesh Dharmadaya Funds Act, 1951, as in force in the Vidarbha Region of the State"; and
- "any law relating to public trusts to which Chapter VII-A applies, to the extent to which it corresponds to the provisions of this Act".
Sub-section (2). On the date of application of the Act to any public trust or class under section 1(4), "the provisions of the Acts specified in Schedule AA which apply to such trust or class of trusts shall cease to apply thereto."
Sub-section (3). The same savings as in section 85(3), but tied to "the laws hereby repealed or ceasing to apply" in clauses (a) to (c), with two provisos.
| Proviso | Effect |
|---|---|
| First | If on the said date a legal proceeding in respect of any public trust is pending before any court under an enactment in Schedule AA, to which the State Government, Commissioner, Registrar or any officer of the State Government is a party, "the Charity Commissioner, shall be deemed to be substituted in those proceedings", and the court disposes of them |
| Second | "every proceeding pending before any criminal court under the Madhya Pradesh Dharmadaya Funds Act, 1951 shall abate on the repeal of that Act under sub-section (1)" |
Sub-section (4). Despite sub-section (3), proceedings pending immediately before the said date before any authority other than a court under an enactment in Schedule AA "shall be continued and disposed of by such authority under that enactment as if the Bombay Public Trusts (Unification and Amendment) Act, 1959, had not been passed."
Sub-section (5). Despite the cessation of an enactment in Schedule AA, "all arrears of contributions and other sums payable under any such enactment shall be recoverable under the provisions of this Act". On recovery, see Section 77.
Sub-section (6). "All records maintained by Registrars under the Madhya Pradesh Public Trusts Act, 1951, shall be transferred to the Charity Commissioner or to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner as the Charity Commissioner may direct."
The Madhya Pradesh Public Trusts Act, 1951 is named in Schedule AA; for that Act see Sections 1 and 2 of the Madhya Pradesh Public Trusts Act, 1951, and for the 1920 Act named in both Schedules see Sections 1 and 2 of the Charitable and Religious Trusts Act, 1920.
Illustration. A public trust in Vidarbha was registered under an older Act named in Schedule AA. On the date the State applies the Act to it under section 1(4), that older Act stops applying to it. A registration proceeding that was pending before a Registrar under the older Act continues before that authority under that Act, as sub-section (4) provides, and any arrears of contribution due under the older Act are recoverable under this Act.
Need help tracing an older trust law?
Where a trust was first registered under an older enactment, the savings and transfers decide which records and proceedings still matter. Our team can trace the history and advise through legal consultation services.
Key takeaways
- Section 85 repeals the Religious Endowments Act, 1863 and ends the application of Schedule A Acts to a trust from the date the Act is applied to it.
- Rights, liabilities, proceedings and things done before that date are saved.
- Pending proceedings and records under the three older Acts named in section 85(4) go to the Charity Commissioner.
- Section 86 repeals three further laws in the area to which the Act was extended and ends the application of Schedule AA Acts from the date of application.
- Pending court cases see the Charity Commissioner substituted; a pending criminal proceeding under the Madhya Pradesh Dharmadaya Funds Act, 1951 abates.
- The older laws are quoted as printed; check the law now in force.
Read next
- Schedules A and AA: earlier trust laws repealed in Maharashtra
- Sections 87 and 88: wakfs and Gurudwaras excluded and removal of difficulties
- Sections 28 and 28A: trusts registered under earlier Acts
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.