MUMBAI, April 18 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its order on a petition challenging the March 13 order of the charity commissioner, which had stayed elections to the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. The charity commissioner's stay had pointed to "irregularities in the voters' lists". The elections, originally scheduled for March 14, were paused a day earlier via an order issued by the charity commissioner. The order directed the appointment of a committee to prepare a fresh voters' list and to oversee the society's day-to-day affairs. It said a new election schedule would be announced only after the list of eligible voters was finalised. However, the move was challenged in the high court by senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, a presidential candidate for the elections, along with others. While hearing the matter on April 11, Justice Farhan Dubash had noted that the charity commissioner's order was passed without issuing prior notice, and stayed its operation. The petitioners claimed that the charity commissioner had given neither the members nor the institution an opportunity to be heard before passing the order, raising serious concerns about the fairness of the process. Additionally, the election, traditionally a quiet affair with a limited number of voters, saw a rise in the number of new applications, with over 1,400 new members being enrolled until March 2026. Defending the charity commissioner's order, advocate general Milind Sathe expressed concern over the new members enrolled, after elections were announced, nominations frozen, and the scrutiny committee's term had expired. He argued that only members approved up to the earlier cut-off date of October 3, 2025, should be eligible to vote in the elections. A single-judge bench of Justice Farhan Dubhash said it is inclined to consider October 3 as the cut-off date, to determine the voters' list, effectively excluding 1,400 new members whose inclusion had been disputed....