Court Rules Against Fragmentation of Single Building Society Without Lawful Bifurcation
In a significant judgment, the Bombay High Court has quashed the registration of a separate cooperative society for a portion of a building already governed by an existing society. The case, Sarita Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. v. Minister for Cooperation & Textile Department, involved the unauthorized registration of a new society comprising shop owners from a building managed by Sarita Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. The building, known as "G-Sarita," consists of a ground floor with commercial shops and residential flats, all sharing a common structure.
The petitioner society, registered in 1986 under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, contested the separate registration granted to the shop owners in 2010. The court observed that the entire building was constructed under a single sanctioned plan and that the registration of a separate society without lawful bifurcation was impermissible under the Act.
Justice Amit Borkar, presiding over the case, stated that the authorities had misdirected themselves by treating a portion of the building as an independent structure without following statutory procedures for bifurcation. The court emphasized that the statute requires orderly formation and division of societies through defined procedures and that these safeguards cannot be bypassed.
The court ruled that the impugned orders granting registration to the new society were unsustainable in law and liable to be quashed. The judgment highlights the importance of adhering to statutory processes to prevent overlapping jurisdictions and fragmentation of cooperative societies.
The writ petition has been disposed of, with the court making the rule absolute in favor of the petitioner society. No order as to costs was made.
Bottom Line:
Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act - Registration of a separate cooperative society for a part of a building already registered under an existing society without lawful bifurcation is impermissible and contrary to the provisions of the Act.
Statutory provision(s): Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 Sections 9, 17, 18, 21A, 152
