Indore resident defrauded by Bhopal housing society
HE WHO comes into equity must come with clean hands! The apothegm, which forms the basis of Cooperative Movement, has been followed more in breach than in compliance in the State.
HE WHO comes into equity must come with clean hands! The apothegm, which forms the basis of Cooperative Movement, has been followed more in breach than in compliance in the State.
The State Cooperative Department has received a barrage of complaints where local denizens who purchased plots from housing cooperative societies to their utter horror have discovered their plots having been sold off by the societies while they remain in dark.
The recent example is of Punjabi Housing Cooperative Society Limited at Bhopal who after having sold off a 5,400 sq ft plot to Indore resident Wiranwali Anand through a registered sale deed executed on March 22,1962, has resold it to Bhopal resident Manjit Kaur for Rs 43,200 in April 2004 without informing the first purchaser.
The current market value of the 7-B Punjabi Baug plot is Rs 20 lakh. The Society and the second purchaser admitted its price at Rs 16.06 lakh, on which they paid stamp duty of Rs 1.51 lakh at the office of Registrar, Stamps and Duty, Bhopal.
It didn’t stop here. The Society officer bearers, having strong political links, inked an extinguish deed on August 9, 2001 citing housing cooperative society bye-law 43 (1) which came into force in 1991.
The bye-law empowers a housing society to cancel the rights of plot holder if he avoids construction on the land within 10 years of purchase. Based on the bye-law, the Society signed an extinguish deed that cancelled Anand’s rights over the plot and paved way for Manjit Kaur to begin construction on the disputed land.
When late Wiranwali’s son and her lawful heir Satya Pal came to know of the fraud two months back, he filed a dispute case before the court of Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bhopal, under Section 64 of MP Cooperative Society Act 1960 and urged him to prevent further construction on plot till the ownership matter is finally decided.
According to Section 64, plots of the land sold to appellant cannot be allotted to any other member and the appellant cannot be compelled to obey conditions of allotment subsequently imposed.
Responding to the dispute, the Society cited bye-law 43 (1) and added that Satya Pal avoided transferring the registry to his name after his mother expired in 1988 and moreover he obtained Rs 6.50 lakh from the Co-operative to end the dispute over the plot.
Anand on his part retorted that Society committed a fraud by selling the plot and signing the extinguish deed at his back and therefore it is null and void. He said the 1991 bye-law could not be made applicable to the sale deed, which was registered in 1962.
Adding that it is an offence under Section 191 and 193 of IPC, he demanded to know why did Society sell the land for Rs 43,000 if it costs Rs 16 lakh. He charged the Society office bearers and Manjit Kaur for pocketing the difference amount of Rs 15 lakh.
The Joint Registrar, prima facie, has upheld Anand’s appeal. The next hearing is scheduled for March 22.
