Can A Housing Society Lose Registration If Members Carry Out Illegal Construction?

What if some members in your housing society are extending portions of their unit illegally? Could this illegality lead to the housing society losing its registration? The answer is no. A recent order by the Bombay High Court has clearly laid that illegal construction by some members of a housing society cannot lead to the entire project losing registration. The responsibility to take down illegal constructions within a housing society lies with municipal bodies, the HC has ruled.

While delivery its verdict in a case relating to Shiv Co-operative Housing Society in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari East, the high court struck down a May 1999 order passed by the co-operatives department. Acting up a plea filed by the developer, the department secretary had cancelled the registration of the co-operative housing society on the grounds that some members have illegally extended parts of their units. The society was granted registration in January that year. The developer, Bhavna Corporation, pleaded that providing registration to such a society where members were carrying out illegal construction would be similar to approving illegal constructions. Ruling in the builder’s favour, an order was passed by the secretary, cancelling the registration of the society. This led to members moving the HC.

"The impugned order passed by the learned secretary May 20, 1999, is not only perverse but also contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, and also to the provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888,” the HC said in its order.