HC quashes registration of separate society for 2 wings of a Prabhadevi bldg

Justice Sandeep Marne on Friday quashed the Deputy Registrar’s February 20, 2025 order registering Atharva CHS for Wings A and B of the four-wing Swa-Griha CHS building, Prabhdevi

MUMBAI: Residents of two sale-component wings of a Prabhadevi building cannot form a separate housing society while an existing society already covers the building, the Bombay High Court has ruled, setting aside the registration of Atharva Co-operative Housing Society. The court said the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (MCS) Act, 1960, provides a separate process for residents seeking to split an existing society.

HC quashes registration of separate society for 2 wings of a Prabhadevi bldg

Justice Sandeep Marne on Friday quashed the Deputy Registrar’s February 20, 2025 order registering Atharva CHS for Wings A and B of the four-wing Swa-Griha CHS building, Prabhdevi.

“In my view, the scheme of the MCS Act does not permit the formation of a new society independently when another society is already formed in respect of the building,” the judge said.

Swa-Griha CHS originally had 32 members and owned a ground-plus-three-storey MHADA building. In 2020, it decided to redevelop the property, following which MHADA allowed Sugee Developers to undertake a joint development by adding the authority’s adjoining land.

The redeveloped property had four wings. Wings A and B were the sale component, while Wings C and D housed the original 32 members of Swa-Griha.

Swa-Griha challenged the decision after its appeal before the Joint Registrar and revision before the minister of cooperation were rejected.

The high court noted that the development agreement, the tripartite agreement between Swa-Griha, MHADA and the developer, and the sale deeds all provided that the new purchasers would become members of Swa-Griha CHS.

The court said that if members of an existing society want to separate, they must follow the bifurcation mechanism under Sections 17 or 18 of the MCS Act. Directly seeking registration of another society was “wholly impermissible”, it held.

The court also pointed to the common facilities shared by all four wings, including the terrace, entrance gate, parking areas and underground water tank.

“In these circumstances, it becomes difficult to believe that it is easy for two distinct societies to manage the building’s affairs separately, independently and without causing any friction,” the court said.

The court also rejected their contentions regarding differences of opinion on managing the two parts of the building - C and D on one side and A and B on the other. It noted that the A and B wing flats were larger and said purchasers were aware when they bought the flats that they would become members of Swa-Griha and participate in common management and decision-making with residents of Wings C and D.

“The flat purchasers of Wings A and B have thus purchased the flats with their eyes wide open to the fact that they will be required to reside in a particular socio-economic class. Now they cannot turn around and complain that there are social or economic differences between the two sets of residents,” the court added.