Madras High Court's Interim stay on regulations

On January 23rd, the Madras High Court ordered an interim stay of the two new regulations approved by the Governing Board and published by the Secretary, Auroville Foundation, in the Gazette of India, e.g. the Auroville Foundation (Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents) Regulations 2023, and the Auroville Foundation (Framework for Selection of Working Committee) Regulations 2024.

In the new Admission and Termination Regulations, an “Admissions and Terminations Scrutinising Committee” (ATSC) would be constituted with all members nominated by the Governing Board. Its task would be to scrutinise all applications for admission as volunteers, newcomers or residents; decide each case on merit; and, after completing the process of consultation with the Residents’ Assembly, convey its decision to the Secretary. The ATSC would also scrutinise all complaints for violation of the Auroville Admission or Auroville Residence Criteria, and decide each case on merit. The Secretary had been given the final power to either accept or reject the decision of the ATSC. The Auroville Foundation (Framework for Selection of Working Committee) Regulations 2024 specify that the Governing Board shall constitute a Selection Process Committee (SPC) which will to review the existing selection process and conduct the selection of the Working Committee members. Following the publication of these regulations, the Auroville Foundation Office called for self-nominations for SPC membership. The first bench of Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy considered that the subordinate legislation [the regulations, eds.] may supplement the statute [the Auroville Foundation Act, eds.], but cannot supplant it and found that, prima facie, the impugned regulations erode the powers of the Residents’ Assembly.

The bench passed interim orders. “Until further orders, the admission or termination of the persons in the register of residents of the Auroville Foundation shall not be finalised nor a person shall be admitted or terminated from the register resorting to the impugned regulations”; and “Until further orders, functioning of the Working Committee under Section 20 of the Act shall not be interfered with by the Committee constituted under the impugned Regulations and the Working Committee shall be one as constituted under Section 20(3) of the Act.”

The cases are listed for next hearing on 25th March 2024