The court upheld that a member requesting a re-audit must bear the associated fees, affirming the society's autonomy and the validity of the Circular limiting re-audit to five years.

JUDGMENT :

(BHARATI DANGRE, J.) :

1. The present Writ Petition is filed by a member of the Respondent No.4 – Splendor Complex Co-Operative Hsg. Soc. Ltd., Mumbai, on being aggrieved by the Government Resolution dated 29.10.2014 as well as the Circular dated 14.12.2015 issued by the Respondent No.2. The Petitioner also seek issuance of writ in nature of mandamus directing the Respondent No.3 to do all such acts, deeds, matters and things as may be required, in accordance with law upon her appointment to carry out re-audit as per the Order dated 10.11.2023 of the Respondent No.4 – Society, for the period of 2014-2015 to 2017-2018, and by way of an alternative prayer it is prayed that test audit shall be conducted instead of re-audit for the year 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022.

2. We have heard the learned counsel Mr. Mohit Bhardwaj for the Petitioner and the learned Addl.G.P. Ms. Prachi Tatake, for the Respondent Nos.1 to 3. Advocate Mr. Ajit Anekar a/w Ms. Ashlesha Modak has represented the Respondent No.4.

By consent of the respective counsel representing the parties, we issue Rule and by making it returnable forthwith, we have taken up the Petition for final hearing.

3. The Petitioner claim to be the first purchaser of the flat through an agreement under Section 4 of the Maharashtra Ownership of Flat Act, 1963, (for short “the MOFA”) and assert that he became a member of the co-operative housing society i.e. the Respondent No.4 and though he has attempted to project before us that he has no grievance against the society but on reading of the pleadings, we find this statement to be completely incorrect and we would be justifying our conclusion to the aforesaid effect as we proceed to deal with the Petition.

4. The Petitioner has specifically pleaded that he being the owner of the flat and member of the Respondent No.4 was regular in payment of bills of the society, related to his shares and he was never a defaulter, but despite this, he was denied services by the society. When the society approached the Registrar, it was refused a recovery certificate under Section 154-B against the Petitioner on 28.09.2021.

Narrating that since the services were denied to him, he was constrained to file a Consumer Case bearing No.CC/84/2024 to recover the amount that he has paid to the society but denied the services, he has pleaded that the society make frivolous claims against him, which has no merit and substance.

5. The Petitioner has pleaded his locus to file this proceedings by referring to himself as “alert member”, who gained knowledge about huge level of misappropriation of money by the managing committee of the society and since the society did not budge to his request, he obtained specific directions for conduct of the audit by the statutory auditor for the year 2020-2021.

However, on perusal of the audit report of the financial year 2020-2021 submitted by the Chartered Accountant Mr. Priyesh Khirad, he noted serious lapses and the Petitioner as a member issued notice to the auditor requesting him to make the necessary changes but since there was no response, he preferred a representation to the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, and also provided him the necessary material in support of his claim that it is necessary to conduct a re-audit of the society from the financial year 2014-2015 to 2021-2022.

A summary of the factual statement justifying the re-audit or test audit of the society is annexed to the Petition as Exh-A and under various heads, several objections are flagged by the Petitioner alongwith his comments, where he alleged that the auditor had failed to verify report about the AGMs held and the decision taken therein and also as to how the accounts of the bank were operated despite the fact that it was frozen.

6. The Respondent No.3 on 10.11.2023 appointed an auditor to carry out re-audit of the society for the year 2018- 2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022 by appointing Smt. Manisha Patil (Auditor Class-I) as an auditor