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Update & Report
August & September 2024
Dear residents,
We are happy to share with you an update on topics which we dealt with in August and
September 2024. We hope you will take the time to read.
Please feel free to visit or email us if you have any questions. Our Open House hours are
from 10 to 12 on Tuesdays, in the former Koodam Office (parking and entrance opposite the
Auroville Library) and our email address is workingcom@auroville.services.
Earlier reports
➔ January & February 2024: click here
➔ March & April 2024: click here
➔ May, June & July 2024: click here
For older reports, please contact our office by email at workingcom@auroville.services
Auroville Foundation internal functioning
Residents’ Assembly (RA)
We remain committed to upholding the voice of the Residents’ Assembly as a statutory
body of the Auroville Foundation, in accordance with our mandate. This includes doing all
we can to ensure that decisions of the Residents’ Assembly are respected and taken into
account.
Legal Opinions obtained
1. On 20/09 we shared in a massbulletin a legal opinion sent by one of our
representing lawyers, pertaining to our status in office as the Working Committee of
the Residents’ Assembly, in light of the Auroville Foundation Act and the Orders of
the Madras High Court. Our lawyer states that in his opinion there can only be one
Working Committee of the Resident Assembly, and no other body of persons can
claim to be this group. He explains that the fact that the AVFO Secretary, with the
approval of the GB, published regulations in the Gazette of India pertaining to the
functioning of the Working Committee of the RA, is an attempt to change the
Auroville Foundation Act, which no body of the Auroville Foundation, be it the
Residents’ Assembly, the Governing Board or the International Advisory Council, is
permitted to do. This was especially highlighted by the MHC’s interim order
modification on 04/09/2023, that stated that the Residents’ Assembly may function
as per Sections 18, 19 and 20 of the AVF Act as long as no policy changes that
change the structure of the Auroville Foundation, are made.
Report - August & September 2024
Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly
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2. Another legal opinion was requested by us for the Entry Board (aka Admission
Committee), which was shared in a massbulletin issued to the community on 20/09.
The full opinion received from our lawyer can be found here. He explains that the
2020 regulations were passed by the GB after RA endorsement, a step that was
omitted in passing the 2023 regulations.
He further states that on 23/02/2024 the MHC placed a stay order on adding or
removing anyone from the Register of Residents. As the Court has given a “Prima
Facie Finding” (accepted as correct until proved otherwise) on the 2023 regulations
as being in conflict with the AVF Act, it is our lawyer’s opinion that the current Entry
Board (aka Admission Committee), selected by the RA, can continue functioning
under the 2020 regulations until further instructions are received by the MHC.
Legal notice given
In the massbulletin of 20/09 we also shared that a legal notice was served under our
instructions on 19/09 by our lawyer to the FAMC selected by the GB. As this is a long legal
notice, we have summarized its content below:
1. In accordance with Section 20 of the Auroville Foundation Act, our group is the only
legal Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly.
2. The Madras High Court, in its order from September 4, 2024, stated that the
Residents' Assembly of Auroville can operate according to Sections 18 to 20 of the
Auroville Foundation Act. This includes the RA's authority to select its Working
Committee under Section 20 of the Act. He states that the RA has already selected
their committee and informed the Governing Board, the International Advisory
Council and the Auroville Foundation Office Secretary of this.
3. The attempt, by the GB through the AVF Secretary, to change the manner in which
the Working Committee is selected, by publishing regulations in the Gazette of
India, has been stayed by the Madras High Court in its entirety on 23/02/2024.
4. He informs the ‘GB FAMC’ that they are in ‘contempt of court’ by continuously
recognising a ‘Working Committee’ that has been legally barred by the MHC.
5. He informs them that any change of Trustees or Executives can only be done with
the express approval of the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly, as per
trust deeds and the Code of Conduct for trusts and units.
6. The document ‘FAMC - WCom Joint Resolution No. 922’, pertaining to the change of
1 executive of PourTous Purchase Service,’ in invalid as it is signed by a name
(Joseba) that is not part of the recognised Working Committee of the RA and
another one (Chandresh) that is not authorized to sign such documents under
Section 16, as he is not a GB member.
Report - August & September 2024
Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly
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7. The email sent on 31/08/2024 by the ‘GB FAMC’ to the Manager of Afsanah Guest
House, sharing observations sent by the ‘Working Committee’, is untrue, as the
Working Committee of the RA has not sent such observations at any time. Also the
‘GB FAMC’ is informed that their precipitate steps to change the unit’s Financial
Service Accounts access are a shameless way of promoting their personal interests
instead of acting on behalf of the wider RA.
8. They are informed that the way of changing executives/trustees without proper
notice and explanation/hearings given goes against the Indian Constitution.
9. He further states that the ‘GB FAMC’ has no power to undertake changes in
maintenances of numerous Aurovilians without following proper process and
principles of natural justice. He further challenges the ‘GB FAMC’ to give proof of
the source of their authority.
10. He states that the ‘GB FAMC’ was created by the AVFO Secretary without the
involvement of the Working Committee of the RA and the Residents’ Assembly.
11. As a conclusion he demands that the ‘GB FAMC’ stops immediately to interact with
the imposters calling themselves the Working Committee; immediately ceases to
change Trustees/Executives without proper approval by the valid Working
Committee of the RA and until a final decision is given by the MHC; restores all
maintenances to those working in AV services and Working Groups.
This notice was served to the GB FAMC on 19/09/2024 but the copy sent by post was
refused by them and returned unopened. The following email was sent by our lawyer to
the served party.
Dear Sir(s)/madam(s),
Please find attached a legal notice issued by me on behalf of the Working Committee of the
Residents Assembly. The same was also sent via speedpost to your office address via Indiapost
tracking/reference no. ET083007260IN. However, the same was returned to me marked as
"Refused."
Please be advised that, in law, the refusal of a legal notice amounts to completion of service.
However, as a matter of abundant caution, and the avoidance of plausible deniability on your
part, I am attaching the PDF copy of the signed notice.
Please note that service is complete on our part and we have met the standards of diligence
required under the law for the service of the said notice.
Regards,
Report - August & September 2024
Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly
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Governing Board (GB) & International Advisory Council (IAC)
Communication with GB & the IAC
In August and September 2024, we sent a few letters to the Governing Board which all
remained unacknowledged and unanswered.
- 12/08, To the Chairman and members of the GB; cc: IAC and AVFO - Residents’
Assembly Decision against land sales / exchanges by the Auroville Foundation office
- 30/09, To the Chairman and members of the GB, cc: IAC - Request to collaborate
with the RA Working Committee
- 30/09, To the Chairman and members of the GB, Request to meet with the GB
Auroville Foundation Office
Extract of the massbulletin sent on 01/08 (part 1)
‘We have been notified on 31/07/2024, that the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation,
Dr. Jayanti Ravi, has been repatriated to Gujarat, her State Cadre. She has been appointed
as Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Sachivayala,
Gandhinagar. We do not have information yet as to who will be appointed as new
Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, however we hope that this change will lead to a new
phase of collaboration between the Residents' Assembly and their duly-selected
representatives on one hand, and the Governing Board and Office of the Secretary (AVFO)
on the other hand. We are willing to work towards rebuilding the trust that has been lost, in
a spirit of true collaboration and of mutuality, as upheld by the Auroville Charter and the
Auroville Foundation Act.’
Letter to the GB on land exchanges
We informed the Chairman and Members of the Governing Board of the results of the RAD
on land exchanges - Residents’ Assembly Decision against land sales / exchanges by the
Auroville Foundation office - which calls for an immediate halt to all land exchanges, the
review of the land deals undertaken by the Secretary, an investigation of all deals since
2022, and for future land deals to respect the AV Foundation Act and Indian law.
Report - August & September 2024
Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly
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Visas
Leave India Notice
On 16/07 the Auroville Resident Alexander Yafarov (aka Sasha) received a ‘Leave India
Notice’ from the FRRO with no explanation given. We published a massbulletin to this
regard on 11/08, explaining his situation and emphasizing that the MHC order of
23/02/2024 does not allow any Aurovilian to be removed from the RoR. The removal from
the RoR was implied by the AVFO Undersecretary-in-charge on 18/7 in his circular to the
persons impersonating the Working Committee, who in turn published the statement on
Auronet on 05/08.
With the invaluable help of resource persons we will be taking all appropriate steps to
address what appears to be once more an overreach of power by the AVFO and its
appointees and keep you informed on the outcome.
Finances and Assets
Afsanah Guest House & PTPS
On 06/09 we issued a massbulletin to inform the Community of recent events pertaining to
attempted changes in AV Unit Executives by the ‘GB appointed FAMC’, without our
consultation as required by trust deeds and the Code of Conduct for trusts and units. For
details a timeline for PTPS events can be found here, and a revised statement was sent for
Afsanah GH on 20/09, including an updated timeline of events of happenings at the GH.
We also requested our lawyer to issue a ‘Legal Notice’ to the ‘GB FAMC’, which is described
in detail under the section above “AVF Internal Functioning/Residents’ Assembly/Legal
Notice given”
Legal matters
Massbulletin related to legal matters:
- 01/08 , A few updates (part 2 & 3 apply)
Madras High Court
On 01/08/2024, the Madras High Court dismissed the Quo Warranto case filed by us
regarding the group of individuals impersonating the Working Committee without the
mandate and approval of the RA. We believe that the dismissal of this case does not
legitimize this group of individuals, as the Madras High Court's judgements of 12/08/2022
and 04/09/2023 are clear and stand valid, along with the Auroville Foundation Act and the
Residents' Assembly Decisions of 10/05/2022, 23/08/2022 and 05/02/2024. (The outcome
Report - August & September 2024
Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly
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