[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This one-page letter, dated 1 April 1977 and signed on 4 April 1977 on Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan letterhead (Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg, Chowpatty, Bombay-7), is addressed to Minoo Masani by Parmanand Kejriwal and Girish K. Munshi. It documents an internal dispute within the Maharashtra unit of the Swatantra Party over the permissible uses of the party’s properties and assets. Some members hold that these assets are trust property and may be deployed only for purposes outlined in the party’s Constitution, while the signatories take the contrary view.

To resolve the disagreement, both factions have agreed to appoint Masani — explicitly invoked as a Founder of the Party — as sole Arbitrator with summary powers, and to be bound by his decision. The letter notes that the opposing side themselves suggested Masani’s name, which Kejriwal and Munshi have accepted, and it asks him to spare the time and look forward to an early reply.

Key points

• Correspondence dated 1 April 1977 on Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan letterhead, signed 4 April 1977 by Parmanand Kejriwal and Girish K. Munshi and addressed to Minoo Masani.
• Records a factional dispute inside the Swatantra Party’s Maharashtra unit over whether party assets are trust property tied strictly to the party Constitution’s stated purposes.
• The signatories hold the contrary view that party properties can be applied to activities beyond the strict wording of those principles.
• Both sides have agreed to submit the disagreement to a single arbitrator with summary powers whose decision will be binding.
• Masani is being invited to serve as sole Arbitrator; the letter notes the opposing side itself proposed his name, which the signatories accepted.
• The request is framed by appeal to Masani’s authority as a Founder of the Swatantra Party.