Members, Their Rights, Responsibilities and Liabilities

Part 4

v     Refusal of membership by the society

As per Section 23(1) Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 no society shall, without sufficient cause, refuse admission of membership to any person duly qualified thereof under the provisions of the said Act and its Bye-laws.

As per Section 23(1A), any eligible person who has been refused the membership of the society, has to tender an application to the Registrar in form H1 together with payment in respect of membership, if any, to the Registrar who shall forward the application and amount if any, so paid to the society concerned within thirty days from the date of receipt of such application and amount by the society, the applicant shall be deemed to have become a member of such society. If any question arises whether a person has become a deemed member or otherwise the same shall be decided by the Registrar after a reasonable opportunity of being heard has been given to all the concerned parties. As per Section 23(3) the decision of the Registrar in appeal is final.

v     Restriction of Membership to members of one community alone.

Refusal by a society to admit an applicant who did not belong to Kanara Saraswat Community is not a “sufficient cause” within the meaning of section 23(1) to justify refusal to admit such person as member of the society.

Insistence that a person must belong to the said community to be eligible to become a member of the society was ultra virus according to the Act.

A residential colony was meant for the Parsi Zoroastrians and there was an agreement by member with society not to allow use of flat to non-Zoroastrians. Defendant No.2 married a non-parsi lady. Grant to injunction restraining from inducting or allowing residence of non-Zoroastrian. It was held by the Supreme Court under section 4, 24, 30 of Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1962 and rules 1965. Rule 12(2) that bye-laws are restricting membership to one community i.e. Parsi Community cannot be held as illegal since neither act not rules probhit the same. However, for the society formed under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act and Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act binding on the society and it was held that the agreement was violative of statutory provisions. Any restriction which is contrary to the provisions of these Statues cannot be defended. Injunction could not be granted.

The statutory provisions of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 and the Maharashtra co-operative Societies Act, 1960 are binding on the society concerned and any bye-law or restriction to the country would be hit by those provisions.”