Co-operative housing society can’t be forced into cluster development: Bombay high court

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday said a co-operative housing society cannot be forced to participate in a cluster development project without its lawful consent.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday said a co-operative housing society cannot be forced to participate in a cluster development project without its lawful consent.

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The division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel said it was impermissible to include the property of a co-operative housing society in any form of development, redevelopment or cluster development project without notice, opportunity of hearing or specific consent of the society. The consent should be based on the resolution of a properly-constituted general body meeting, the court said.

It was hearing a petition, filed by Jawahar Jyoti Co-operative Housing Society in Thane, challenging a December 2018 resolution by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). The resolution had included the petitioner’s property in a cluster development project, although the society’s name did not find a place in any of the 44 urban renewal projects published by the civic body.

The petitioner society contended that its name was included on the suggestion of two adjoining housing societies, Rajtara Co-operative Housing Society and Garodia Co-operative Housing Society, both of which have been included in the project. Counsel for the society, Neeta Karnik, pointed out that the forcible inclusion of the petitioner would impose unwarranted restrictions on the society’s ownership right over its own property.

In its reply, TMC conceded that the society’s name was included on a suggestion given by the neighbouring societies, and stated that the petitioner society was free to develop its property on its own if it did not want to participate in the scheme.