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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.7889 OF 2022

Gurunath Dalvi

…..Petitioner.

V/s.

Sagar (HIG) Cooperative Housing

Society Ltd & Ors.

….Respondents.

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Mr.Amogh K. Karandikar for the petitioner.

Mr.Kishor S. Patil a/w Mr. Pratik B. Rahade for respondent nos.1, 3

to 5.

Mr.P.V. Nelson Rajan, AGP for State/Respondent no.2.

CORAM : SANDEEP K. SHINDE, J.

CLOSED FOR ORDERS ON : 18.10.2022.

PRONOUNCED ON: 21.10.2022.

P.C. :

1.

Petitioner is a member of Sagar (HIG) Cooperative Housing

Society (Society for short). It consist of 168 members. The

strength of its Managing Committee is of 13 members as per by-

laws. The term of the Managing Committee is of 5 years. The

respondents nos. 3 to 7 were elected as Managing committee

members of the Society in Election held in 2017. As per the by-laws

CHITRA

SANJAY

SONAWANE

Digitally signed

by CHITRA

SANJAY

SONAWANE

Date:

2022.10.21

19:57:32

+0530

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the Managing Committee is required to hold at least, on meeting in

a month for proper administration and functioning of the Society.

The Managing Committee members are required to attend monthly

meetings. In terms of by-law no.119 (a) (ii) in case a Committee

member remains absent for 3 consecutive meetings without

obtaining leave of absence (emphasised) the said committee

member ceases to be a committee member. Petitioner’s case is

that during the period, between January 2018- December 2018, six

committee members remained absent for 3 consecutive meetings of

the Managing Committee of the respondent, without obtaining leave

of absence. On a complaint by the petitioner, the Deputy Registrar

Cooperative Societies-Respondent no.2 vide order dated 30.7.2019

held the respondent nos.3 to 7 ceased to be members of the

Committee in terms of by-law 119 (a)(ii) for not attending 3

consecutive meetings of M.C. without obtaining leave. The order

dated 30.7.2019, was challenged before the Divisional Joint

Registrar, who by order dated 20.4.2020 dismissed the revision

application and confrmed the order dated 30.7.2019. Thereafter,

the respondents fled a writ petition no. 56/2020 before this Court.

That vide order dated 11.8.2020, this Court set aside order dated

20.4.2020 passed by the Divisional Joint Registrar and remanded

the matter back to the said authority for de-nova consideration. The

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Divisional Joint Registrar on remand, set aside the frst order dated

30.7.2019 passed by the Deputy Registrar and remanded the

matter back to him. The petitioner challenged the order of the

Divisional Joint Registrar in Writ Petition No.94064/2020. This

Court by order dated 9.2.2021, clarifed that the Deputy Registrar

shall consider all issues as well as any other objection that may be

raised by the petitioner and further directed to decide the matter

on its own merits without being infuence by the observations made

by the Divisional Joint Registrar. Thereafter, the Deputy Registrar

upon hearing the parties, vide order dated 12.10.2021 held that the

respondents 3 to 7 failed to prove that they had obtained the leave

of absence for 3 consecutive meetings of the Managing Committee.

Hence, the Dy.Registrar declared that respondents 3 to 7, ceased to

be members of Managing Committee, under by law no.119 (a)(ii).

That order was challenged before the Divisional Joint Registrar by

the respondents 3 to 5 in revision application no. 669/2022.

2.

The Divisional Joint Registrar upon appreciating the evidence

and in particular the Minutes of meeting of the Managing

Committee, recorded the fnding that the respondent nos.3 to 5 had