Justice K. Lakshman of Telangana High Court had set aside Ranga Reddy District Co-operative Officer’s decision not to register an apartment association under Telangana State Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act-1995.
Pronouncing judgement in a writ petition, the judge instructed the officer to register Sri Sri Kalakuteers Apartment Flat Owners Mutually Aided Cooperative Society under TMACS Act. The judge also set aside the report sent by the officer to the government rejecting the permission to the Society, stating that it had no legal basis.
The order said the officer’s rejection of the society’s request for its registration was a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The judge dismissed an interim application filed by another society of the same apartment building (formed by some of the flat owners) to implead it as one of the respondents in the writ petition.
This second society opposed registration of the first society under the TMACS Act. The verdict said the second society is not a necessary party to the writ petition. It cannot oppose registration of the first society, the judge observed. Sri Sri Kalakutter Apartment, a residential complex, had 150 flats. Flat owners of the complex initially got a society registered under Public Societies Act in 2015.
On learning about new enactments for registration of flat owners welfare associations under Cooperative laws, they dissolved their society and approached the RR Cooperative Officer for registration of their society under TSMAC Act. They passed a resolution to this extent and applied to the officer who rejected it.
