Writ petition filed in contrary to termination of membership in the society – stands dismissed by Punjab High court
TITLE: Maninder Pal v Chandigarh Sector 16 Co-operative House Building Society Ltd. and Others
Decided On-: May 17, 2023
CWP No. 11685 of 2009 (O&M)
CORAM: Hon’ble Justice Mr. Jaishree Thakur
INTRODUCTION- The current writ petition was submitted in accordance with Articles 226 and 227 of the Indian Constitution, asking that a writ in the nature of a Mandamus be issued, ordering the respondents to permit the petitioner to continue to be a member of the respective society.
FACTS OF THE CASE-
The petitioner was the original member of the first respondent society, Chandigarh Sector 16 Cooperative House Building Society Limited (hereinafter referred to as “the Society”), which was registered under the terms of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, as it applied to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and which had a share certificate number of 75 dated 28.02.2002 (Annexure P-4). She gave the Society a total deposit of Rs. 7,96,000/- for the purpose of paying the land and building costs for the category “B” flat. She repeatedly contacted the Society to inquire about the status of the apartment and any outstanding debts, but she was ignored. a dated legal notice 07.08.2007 and a reminder dated 27.08.2007 were served to the Society via Regd. A.D., but the petitioner never heard back from the Society. After learning that the Society would begin turning over the possession of flats on September 5, 2007, the petitioner’s husband made a trip to the respondent’s office on September 6, 2007, but that too ended in failure.
The petitioner then filed a revision petition in opposition to the order dated 19.11.2008 (Annexure P/16) expelling him from the respondent Society, which was also denied by the Advisor to the Administrator, U.T. Chandigarh, in an order dated 18.03.2009.
The current petition was submitted out of resentment over the petitioner’s membership in the respondent—Society being terminated.
COURT ANALYSIS AND DECISION
The petitioner’s knowledgeable attorney will argue that the petitioner was one of the Society’s founding members and that he or she actually paid the sum of Rs. 7,96,000/- towards the demand made for the allocation of a B-Category flat in the Society. The petitioner had a membership that included Share Certificate No. 75 and Folio No. 106. Despite the petitioner making several trips to the Society’s office, the flat was not assigned to her. It is argued that the lack of a notice prior to the membership cancellation violates natural justice’s rules and principles.In light of this, a writ petition has been filed, asking that the orders that have been made merit being overturned, restoring the petitioner’s membership, and allowing her to pay the outstanding dues as a result.
Contrarily, knowledgeable counsel representing the respondents would argue that there is no defect with the orders thus passed and that the Society was forced to expel the petitioner from membership in the Society because she was a defaulter because there was no other course of action. She was allegedly given several chances to pay off the Society’s unpaid debts, but she declined to do so. Numerous notices were sent out, and even though they demanded payment of the outstanding balance, the petitioner neglected to respond. As such, the petitioner does not deserve any relief
The court held “In a cooperative society, it is the responsibility and duty of each and every member of the society to contribute his money in time for construction of the dwelling unit and without contributing the amount, a project cannot be completed. The appellant has failed to deposit the amount legally due to her. Thus, the expulsion of the appellant from the society is valid”
Writ petition – dismissed
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Written by– Steffi Desousa