Bombay High Court Upholds Disqualification of Co-operative Housing Society Committee Members for Deliberate Withholding of Meeting Records
Case Reference
Shashikant M. Ramane And Ors. Vs Joint Registrar Co-operative Societies (Bombay High Court)
Background and Context
A co-operative housing society in Maharashtra found itself at the centre of a significant legal dispute when its managing committee failed — repeatedly and deliberately — to furnish internal records to one of its own elected committee members. The Bombay High Court, in disposing of a writ petition filed by the disqualified committee members, affirmed concurrent findings recorded across three levels of adjudication, ultimately upholding the disqualification imposed under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (MCS Act).
The petitioners — former managing committee members of Vaishali Nagar Mahalaxmi Co-operative Housing Society Limited — challenged orders passed by the Deputy Registrar, the Joint Registrar, and the Minister (Co-operation), each of which sustained their disqualification for non-compliance with Section 154B-8(2) of the MCS Act. While the Joint Registrar had partially interfered with the Deputy Registrar's direction appointing an Administrator, the disqualification itself remained intact at every stage of the proceedings.
Factual Matrix: How the Dispute Unfolded
The managing committee of the society was elected for the term 2022 to 2027. The petitioners held the positions of Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer respectively. Respondent No. 4, who had previously served as Treasurer during the 2017–2022 term, was re-elected as a committee member for the current term.
In October 2023, Respondent No. 4 made two separate written requests for society records:
Letter dated 5 October 2023 — Demanding minutes of attendance records of 13 managing committee meetings held between 1 April 2022 and March 2023. Respondent No. 4 complained that he had received WhatsApp intimation in respect of only 3 out of the 13 meetings. A cheque of ₹200/- was enclosed towards copying charges.
Letter dated 8 October 2023 — Demanding a CD containing the video recording of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 24 September 2023. Again, a cheque of ₹200/- was enclosed as fee.
Neither request was acted upon by the society within the statutory timeframe. Respondent No. 4 accordingly filed a complaint on the Government's Sarkar Sanvad portal on 2 November 2023.
Escalating Non-Compliance Despite Regulatory Intervention
The Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Mumbai City, Eastern Suburbs, Konkan Division, Mumbai (Deputy Registrar) took cognizance of the portal complaint and issued a direction on 20 November 2023 instructing the society's Chairman/Secretary to furnish the demanded documents after collecting the requisite fees.
The society responded on 26 December 2023 with a letter that levelled various allegations against Respondent No. 4 but, notably, expressed willingness to deposit copies of demanded documents with the Deputy Registrar's office "as early as possible" rather than supplying them directly to Respondent No. 4.
Respondent No. 4 filed a further complaint on the portal on 14 December 2023, prompting the Deputy Registrar to issue yet another direction on 19 December 2023. Despite this, the society still did not directly supply the documents to Respondent No. 4.
The timeline of eventual (but belated) compliance is as follows:
- Minutes of managing committee meetings deposited with Deputy Registrar's office: 18 January 2024
- Pendrive containing AGM video recording deposited with Deputy Registrar's office: 4 March 2024 (acknowledged on 13 March 2024)
- Directions issued under
Section 154B-27(1): 6 February 2024 - Show cause notice under
Section 154B-27(2): 15 March 2024 - Disqualification order passed by Deputy Registrar: 6 May 2025
The documents were ultimately received by Respondent No. 4 only on 21 June 2024 (AGM recording — after 263 days) and 15 October 2024 (committee meeting minutes — after 377 days) from the dates of his original written requests.
Statutory Framework: Sections 154B-8 and 154B-23 of the MCS Act
The Court examined the two central provisions governing this dispute in considerable detail.
Section 154B-8 — Rights of Members to Inspect Documents
Section 154B-8 of the MCS Act reads as under: