Registrar of Co-operative Societies & Anr. v. T.K. Kunhiraman & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 3269 of 2016)Decided 31 Mar 2016
Civil Appeal No. 3269 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This order does not decide the main case. The appeals arose from a dispute over the enrollment and expulsion of members of a co-operative society. The core issue is governed by a writ petition, W.P.(C) No. 16564/2012, that was still pending before the High Court.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the main case. The Court said it was not going into the factual aspects and disposed of the appeals by directing the High Court to decide the writ petition expeditiously, preferably within six months. It ordered that the interim status quo order dated 09.05.2013 continue until the writ petition is finally decided. The writ petition is to be heard uninfluenced by any observations in the judgment under appeal or the Single Judge's order.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on the membership dispute. Where the main writ petition is still pending, the Supreme Court may simply preserve the status quo and ask the High Court to decide it quickly.

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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.

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The Court noted that the Registrar had recently issued a one-time circular allowing old, unregularized "self-draw" allotments like this one to be formally recognized, but that circular's application deadline had already lapsed. Given that the original allotment to the husband, and the widow's status as his rightful heir, were not disputed by anyone, the Court laid out a specific two-step, time-bound process: first the widow must apply to the society to transfer her husband's membership into her name, and once that is done, she may apply through the society under the (otherwise-lapsed) circular for final confirmation of the allotment, with the Registrar directed to decide by a fixed date.

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