Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has asked the Divisional Joint Registrar (DJR) to expeditiously examine the records of an 84-year-old building in Matunga whose redevelopment had stalled due to a dispute among a number of society members.
The DJR has to examine the records of the Matunga Kapol Co-operative Housing Society and determine the number of members, quorum, and whether the 51% criteria was met for the redevelopment process.
About The Plea Bombay HC Was Hearing
The HC was hearing a plea by 37 members of the society challenging the DJR's decision to quash the appointment of M/s Vallabh Developers to redevelop the society's dilapidated buildings.
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During the hearing, Senior Advocate Simil Purohit, representing the petitioners, argued that there were 62 flats in the society and three members owned two flats. Moreover, seven members had expired and their legal heirs had not applied for a transfer of membership. Hence, there were only 52 members in the society. He claimed that at the Special General Meeting (SGM) held on August 14, 2022, 39 members were present, meeting the 2/3rd quorum requirement, and 28 members voted in favour of the redevelopment, satisfying the 51% criteria.
However, Senior Advocate Dinyar Madan, representing the managing committee and other members, countered that the quorum should be calculated based on 62 members, requiring 42 members to be present. Since only 39 members attended the meeting, there was no quorum, and the 51% criteria was not met.
Observation Made By Justice Sharmila Deshmukh
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh observed that the DJR had not examined the society's records to determine the number of members as of the meeting date. The court hence remanded the matter back to the DJR.
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The court directed the society to produce the Register of Members and a list of members present at the SGM before the DJR.
“After the said exercise is carried out, if the quorum is met and the criteria of 51% is satisfied, the order of 29th December 2022 is to be withdrawn by the Divisional Joint Registrar. In the event, the quorum is not met and the criteria of 51% is not satisfied, then the order of 29th December 2022 to stand,” the court Said.
As per the HC order, the members submitted the necessary documents before the DJR last week. The DJR has kept the matter until later this week.
