1. There is an association of apartment owners of the Windsor Park Group Housing Complex situate at 5 Vaibhav Khand, Indira Puram, Ghaziabad.

2. The Board of Management [Board of Management: Board] of the Windsor Residents Welfare Association through its vice President filed a writ petition challenging the order dated 13.3.2018 passed by the Deputy Registrar, Firms Societies and Chits [Deputy Registrar Firms, Societies and Chits: Deputy Registrar:], Meerut holding that as the elections of the office bearers of the Society were not held within time the Registrar/Sub-Registrar is authorized to conduct the elections, and the consequential letters for holding the elections thereof.

3. The writ petition as filed by the Board has been dismissed by the writ Court vide judgment and order dated 13.11.2018. It is against the aforesaid dismissal of the writ petition that the appellant Board has preferred this appeal under Chapter VIII of Rule 5 of the Rules of the High Court.

4. The Windsor Park Residents Welfare Society was registered as a Society on 31.10.2007. The registration was valid for five years. It expired on 31.10.2012. The said registration was not renewed. In the meantime, the Uttar Pradesh Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010 [The Uttar Pradesh Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010: Apartment Act] was enforced w.e.f. 21st July 2010. The said Act mandates for an Association of apartment owners to be governed by the Model Bye-Laws as provided vide notification dated 16th November 2011.

5. In view of the Apartment Act, some dispute and confusion arose with regard to registration and renewal of the registration of the Society.

6. In connection with the dispute of its registration/renewal of registration Writ C No. 50907 of 2015 was filed wherein vide judgment and order dated 16.9.2015 certain directions were issued by the Court. Due to alleged non compliance of the said directions Civil Misc. Contempt Application No. 2562 of 2016 was filed wherein orders dated 20.8.2016 and 27.9.2016 were passed. In compliance with the orders of the High Court passed in the above Writ Petition and Contempt Application, an Association of apartment owners was constituted. In fact the Society in existence was reconstituted as an Association of apartment owners [Association of Apartment Owners: Association]. The Association adopted the model bye laws on 27.9.2013 and their adoption was duly recognized by the Deputy Registrar as well as the competent authority vide communications dated 27.9.2013 and 30.9.2013 respectively.

7. After the adoption of the model bye laws, the first elections of the Board consisting of 10 members were held in the month of September 2016 and the first meeting of the elected members was held on 3 The Uttar Pradesh Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010: Apartment Act 4 Association of Apartment Owners: Association 18th September 2016. Thereafter, the elections of the Association were notified to be held on 24.11.2017 vide notice dated 1.11.2017. However, as no nomination was received till the last date, elections could not be held. There is nothing on record to establish that any elections of the Association to elect the members of the Board or its office bearers were ever held thereafter.

8. It is in the above back-ground that the Deputy Registrar passed an order dated 13.3.2018 recording that the Model Bye-Laws were adopted by the Association on 27.9.2013 and that according to Bye-law 18 of Chapter IV the term of the Board is one year. The order thus held that since the elections were not held in time, the term of the Board has come to an end or it is time barred and therefore the elections are to be held in accordance with Section 25(2) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860. [Societies Registration Act, 1860 : Societies Act]

9. Heard Sri Viplav Sharma, Vice President of the Board on behalf of the appellant. L