Mumbai: Bombay High Court has cancelled the registration of a separate housing society for two wings of a four-winged building in Prabhadevi that already has a society in place.Justice Sandeep Marne on Friday said it was “wholly impermissible” for residents of A and B wings to directly approach the deputy registrar under Section 9 (registration) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act “for registration of a new society in respect of a building for which there already exists another housing society.”Petitioner Swa Griha CHSL, a Mhada building, was redeveloped through Sugee Developers with 240 flats. An occupancy certificate was issued in March 2024. However Atharva CHSL’s chief promoter applied for registration of a new society for sale component wings A and B. In Feb 2025, the deputy registrar granted it registration. As the petitioner lost its challenge before the joint registrar and the cooperation minister, it approached HC.Setting aside all three orders, Justice Marne agreed with the petitioner’s advocate Mayur Khandeparkar that the Feb 2025 order “suffers from serious jurisdictional error.” He said for residents desirous of a separate society, the “only course of action” is for them to pass two-third majority resolution for bifurcation or to apply to the registrar. There are “comprehensive procedures” before bifurcation can be ordered.Justice Marne noted that flat purchasers of the sale component wings “do not possibly desire to dwell together” with occupants of the old building and Mhada allottees. The Feb 2025 order indicated that the deputy registrar was “not even made aware” of the petitioner and that 72 flat purchasers were already its members. Instead, he opined that the developer had not cooperated to form a society.Justice Marne said even otherwise, it is impermissible to form a separate society of two wings as the building is connected by common amenities, including the terrace, underground tank, water supply lines, electricity meter, entry for vehicles and gymnasium. He disagreed with senior advocateAnil Sakhare, for Atharva CHSL, that there is no legislative restriction on the registrar’s power to register a new society. “If new society is allowed to be registered without bifurcating the existing society, there would be utter chaos as multiple societies would get registered in respect of the same building,” said Justice Marne. On Sakhare’s request, he stayed the judgment for six weeks.
