Dismissed

Jetwan Chandivali S.R.A. Co-Operative Housing Society Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra and 3 Ors.

Bombay HC16 Sept 2014WP/2234/2014

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging the Joint Registrar's order dividing a cooperative society into wingwise societies. The court rejected the claim that the society meeting was illegal and found sufficient delay in filing. It also refused to continue ad-interim relief due to contrary affidavits filed by respondents. Petition dismissed; ad-interim relief vacated.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition is dismissed summarily. The ad-interim relief granted earlier is vacated.

Jetwan Chandivali S.R.A. Co-Operative Housing Society… — Company and Corporate | Bombay HC (2014)

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WPL 1243-2014

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION

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WRIT PETITION (L) NO. 1243 OF 2014

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Jetwan Chandivli S.R.A. Co-op. Housing Society Ltd. .. Petitioner V/s State of Maharashtra & Ors. .. Respondents

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Mr. Mayur Khandeparkar with Mr. Subhash G. Bane i/b S.B. Legal for the petitioner.

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Mr. V.D. Patil for respondent no.3.

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Mr. Milind More, A.G.P. for respondent nos.1 and 2.

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Mr. Ranbir Singh for the proposed intervenor.

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CORAM: MOHIT S. SHAH, C.J. & M.S. SONAK, J.

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DATE : 16 SEPTEMBER 2014

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P.C.:

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In this writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the Appellate Authority to hear and decide the petitioner's Appeal No. 546 of 2013 challenging the orders dated 11 October 2013 and 9 May 2013 made by respondent no.3 – Joint Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies (Eastern and Western Suburban), S.R.A., Mumbai.

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The petitioner claims to be an S.R.A. Cooperative Housing Society having 903 members who are occupying flats in 18 wings of a Slum Rehabilitation Complex. The order dated 11

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October 2013 passed by the Joint Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies is a draft order regarding division of Jetwan Chandivali S.R.A. Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. (for short “Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society”) into 18 cooperative housing societies under section 18 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1950 (the Act) and under Rules 16 and 17 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Rules, 1951 (the Rules).

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A Special General Meeting of the members of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society was convened on 17 March 2013 as per the notice issued by the Secretary of the said Society on 11 March 2013 / 15 March 2013. The notice clearly indicated that the Special General Meeting of the Society was to be convened on 17 March 2013 at 11 a.m. in the Community Hall of Wing 17 on the ground floor and the agenda of the meeting was to decide whether the Society should remain as a single cooperative housing society or whether there should be division of the Society into wingwise cooperative housing society and vote be cast to that effect at the said meeting in the presence of the S.R.A. Officer.

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Accordingly the meeting was conducted in the presence of a Cooperative Officer in-charge of S.R.A. Schemes and the officer submitted his report dated 1 April 2013 indicating that Special General Meeting was attended by about 300–350 members and that out of the members present and voted, only 10–15 members

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objected to the division and the remaining members voted by overwhelming majority for division of the cooperative housing society into wingwise cooperative housing societies. The report further mentioned that a videography was also done of the proceedings of the meeting. The report was accordingly submitted to the Joint Registrar, S.R.A., Mumbai.

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In the meantime, on 28 March 2013 the Chairman / Secretary of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society addressed a letter to the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, S.R.A. informing him that at the Special General meeting of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society conducted on 17 March 2013 in the presence of S.R.A. Officer Mr. Suryawanshi, a decision was taken that Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society be divided into wingwise cooperative housing societies and, therefore, henceforth the Managing Committee of the (erstwhile) cooperative housing society will not be responsible for any further action in relation to affairs of the cooperative housing society. The Joint Registrar thereafter sent a letter dated 17 April 2013 to the Chairman / Secretary of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society informing that in view of the majority resolution passed at the Special General Meeting of the cooperative housing society on 17 March 2013 for division of the cooperative housing society into wingwise cooperative housing societies in the presence of Mr. Suryawanshi, as per the said resolution, the list of members of wingwise cooperative housing societies and the

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statement of financial position be sent to the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies (S.R.A.).

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Section 17 of the Act provides for amalgamation, transfer, division or conversion of cooperative housing society / societies at the request of the concerned cooperative housing society / societies. As per this provision, a resolution has to be passed by the cooperative housing society by two-third majority of the members present and voting at the Special General Meeting be held for the purpose. However, section 18 of the Act provides that where the Registrar is satisfied that it is essential in the public interest, or in the interest of the cooperative movement, or for the purpose of securing the proper management of any society, that two or more societies should amalgamate or any society should be divided to form two or more societies or should be reorganised then notwithstanding anything contained in section 17, the Registrar of cooperative societies may provide for division of a society into societies with such constitution, property rights, interests and authorities, and such liabilities, duties and obligations, as may be specified in the order. Sub-section (2) of section 18 further provided that such an order shall not be made unless a copy of the proposed order has been sent in draft to the society or each of the societies concerned and the Registrar has considered and made such modifications in the draft order as may seem to be desirable in the light of suggestions and objections, which may be received by him,

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within such period (being not less than two months from the date on which the copy of the order as aforesaid was received by the society) either from the society or from any member or class of members thereof, or from any creditor or class of creditors.

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The necessary rules for implementing the provisions of section 18 of the Act are contained in Rule 17 of the Rules.

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It is thus clear that all that the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies has done by passing the impugned order dated 11 October 2013 is to proceed on the basis of the decision taken at the Special General Meeting of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society conducted on 17 March 2013. The present petition is premised on the basis that the said meeting was illegal because it was convened under the oral direction of respondent no.3.

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Having regard to the fact that the Special General Meeting of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society was convened as per the notice issued by the Secretary of the Society and not by respondent no.3, we are not inclined to accept the above contention. The report of the cooperative officer, who was present at the meeting, clearly indicates that there were 300-350 members present and only 10-15 members objected to the division of the cooperative housing society into wingwise cooperative housing societies. The proceedings of the meeting were also videographed. In this view of

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the matter, we are not inclined to accept the contention raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the meeting was not properly convened and was not attended by the members of the society.

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As already noted hereinabove, the matter is at the stage of draft order which has already been communicated by the Joint Registrar as far back as in October 2013 and the present petition came to be filed on 30 April 2014. Therefore, there is also considerable delay in filing the petition. Having seen the letter dated 28 March 2013 of the Chairman / Secretary of Jetwan Chandivali Housing Society, which did not raise any objection about the legality of the Special General Meeting held on 17 March 2013 and having regard to the delay in filing the present petition, we are not inclined to entertain the petition.

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As regards the pending appeal before the Appellate Authority, it is stated that the appeal is directed against the order appointing the Administrator of the petitioner society.

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The learned counsel for the intervenor submits that in view of the fact that the Managing Committee of the petitioner society by their own letter dated 28 March 2013 informed the Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies that as per the decision taken at the Special General meeting of the Society on 17 March 2013, the Managing Committee would not be responsible for any financial

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or other affairs, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies was obviously left with no other alternative but to appoint an Administrator.

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In view of the above, we do not find any merit in the petition. The petition is therefore dismissed summarily. The adinterim relief granted earlier stands vacated.

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The learned counsel for the petitioner requests for continuation of ad-interim relief granted earlier.

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Since our order dated 25 August 2014 clearly indicated that the ad-interim relief was being granted in view of the averments made in para 12 of the writ petition, today Mr. Vijay Patil, learned counsel appearing for the Joint Registrar (SRA) has placed before us the letters / reports which are referred to in the order which make it clear that the averments made in para 12 of the petition are not borne out by the material on record and hence we are not inclined to continue the ad-interim relief.

CHIEF JUSTICE

(M.S. SONAK, J.)

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Jetwan Chandivali S.R.A. Co-Operative Housing Society Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra and 3 Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Jetwan Chandivali S.R.A. Co-Operative Housing Society Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra and 3 Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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