The Charitable Endowments Act, 1890

(1) This Act may be called the Charitable EndowmentsAct, 1890. (2) It extends to the whole of India, 1***, 2***; and (3) It shall come into force on the first day of October, 1890.

In this Act “charitable purpose” includes relief of the poor, education, medicalrelief and the advancement of any other object of general public utility, but does not include a purposewhich relates exclusively to religious teaching or worship.

1[(1) TheCentral Government may appoint an officer of the Government by the name of his office to betreasurer of Charitable Endowments for India, and the Government of any State may appoint anofficer of the Government by the name of his office to be treasurer of Charitable Endowments for theState]. (2) Such treasurer shall, for the purposes of taking, holding and transferring movable orimmovable property under the authority of this Act, be a corporation sole by the name of the treasurerof Charitable Endowments for 2[India or, as the case may be, the State], and, as such treasurer, shallhave perpetual succession and a corporate seal, and may sue and be sued in his corporate name.

1[3A. Definition of "appropriate Government", etc.--In the subsequent provisions of this Actthe appropriate Government means, as respects a charitable endowment, the objects of which do notextend beyond a single State and are not objects to which the executive authority of the CentralGovernment extends, the Government of the State, and as respects any other charitable endowmentthe Central Government].

(1) Where any property is held or is to be applied intrust for charitable purpose, the 1[appropriate Government], if it thinks fit, may, on application madeas hereinafter mentioned, and subject to the other provisions of this section, order, by 2notification in the Official Gazette, that the property be vested in the treasurer of CharitableEndowments on such terms as to the application of the property or the income thereof as may beagreed on between the 1[appropriate Government] and the person or persons making the application,and the property shall thereupon so vest accordingly. (2) When any property has vested under this section in a treasurer of Charitable Endowments, he isentitled to all documents of title relating thereto. 3* * * * * (4) An order under this section vesting property in a treasurer of Charitable Endowments shall notrequire or be deemed to require him to administer the property, or impose or be deemed to imposeupon him the duty of a trustee with respect to the administration thereof.