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Rajan Arora vs. Registrar of Cooperative Societies Delhi & Anr.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:8059-DBDecided 17 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 12556/2026CNR: DLHC010405442026
Justice Prathiba M. Singh · Justice Vikas Mahajan

Background

The petitioner bought a flat in the Evergreen Cooperative Group Housing Society, Dwarka, from the original allottee under a 2003 agreement to sell, and has been in possession since. Despite repeated requests, the Society never transferred the membership into his name, so in March 2025 he approached the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) under Section 91 of the Delhi Cooperative Societies Act, which requires a decision within 30 days, but the RCS also took no action, prompting this writ petition.

Decision Breakdown

The RCS's counsel pointed out that the petitioner had not filed the specific forms (Form-20 and Form-21) required under the Cooperative Societies Rules. Rather than dismissing the petition, the Court issued a structured timeline: the petitioner must submit the required forms and dues to the Society; the Society must then issue a No-Objection Certificate and confirm membership within one month; the RCS must meet the petitioner and Society office-bearers on a fixed date in November 2026 to resolve the matter; and even if the Society doesn't cooperate, the RCS must still decide the petitioner's original representation by mid-December 2026, after which it can recommend the DDA formally allot the flat to him.

Lesson Learnt

When a housing society and government authority both sit on a legitimate transfer request for years, a court can step in not by deciding the merits itself but by imposing binding deadlines on every step of the bureaucratic chain, forcing a resolution.

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