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Divorce Advocates in Pune

Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the old Hindu laws, divorce was viewed as forbidden and was not talked about as freely as it is spoken out today, but with the codification of the laws the provision of divorce were laid down The provision of “Divorce” has been dealt with under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being a true blue method whereby both the parties to the marriage, decide to break all the promises or vows taken at the time of marriage. All Hindus, Buddhist, Jains or Sikhs are covered under the divorce provisions of the act.

Grounds for Divorce
The following grounds can be invoked for securing a divorce under the act:

Adultery: During the period of marriage, if either spouse maintains sexual relations with a person other than his or her lawfully wedded companion.
1. Cruelty: After the marriage, subjecting the petitioner to cruelty.
2. Desertion: If either one of the parties to the marriage deserts the other for a consistent span of at least two years , prior to the filing of the petition by the other party.
3. Conversion to another religion by either party other than Hinduism
4. Mental Disorder: If the spouse of the petitioner suffers from any unsoundness of mind, mental illness or disorder that cannot be cured, then the petitioner can file for divorce
5. Virulent and Incurable Disease: in the form of leprosy.
6. Venerable Disease in Communicable form.
7. The renunciation of the world or entered any religious order.
8. Not heard being alive for a period of seven years or more.
Additional Grounds for Dissolution of the Marriage by the Wife
Under the act, the wife is entitled to seek divorce from her husband on the following grounds:
1. Where the husband has another living wife from his previous subsisting marriage, before the commencement of the act.
2. Post the marriage, the husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.
3. Where the wife was awarded an order or decree for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 or under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1975, by the court, in spite of the fact that she was living apart from her husband even before the passage of such decree or order. The conjugal relations between the parties failed to resume within one year or more, even after the passage of this order.
4. The marriage was performed before the attainment of 15 years of age by the wife, and on completion of 15 years and not before 18 years of age, the wife rejected the marriage Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a divorce petition can be filed by the parties only after the passage of one year from the marriage date.

The Irretrievable breakdown of Marriage
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 incorporated another ground for seeking divorce, namely the ‘Irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. As the term suggests, it leads to a situation whereby, either or both the parties to the marriage fine it impossible to peacefully cohabit with each other, due to personality’s clashes, differences in opinion and have lived separately from each other for a long period of time and are no longer too eager to further carry on their matrimonial relationship.

Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
*13B DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT —

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.]

(i) The period of 6 to 18 months provided in section 13B is a period of interregnum which is intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move. In this transitional period the parties or either of them may have second thoughts; Suman v. Surendra Kumar, AIR 2003 Raj 155.

(ii) The period of living separately for one year must be immediately preceding the presentation of petition. The expression ‘living separately’ connotes not living like husband and wife. It has no reference to the place of living. The parties may live under the same roof and yet they may not be living as husband and wife. The parties should have no desire to perform marital obligations; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

(iii) The period of six to eighteen months time is given in divorce by mutual consent as to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends. Mutual consent should continue till the divorce decree is passed. The court should be satisfied about the bona fides and consent of the parties. If there is no consent at the time of enquiry the court gets no jurisdiction to make a decree for divorce. If the court is held to have the power to make a decree solely based on the initial petition, it negates the whole idea of mutuality. There can be unilateral withdrawal of consent. Held, that since consent of the wife was obtained by fraud and wife was not willing to consent, there could be unilateral withdrawal, of consent; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

*PROCEDURE FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.
As a mutual consent divorce lawyers, we “VED LEGAL” provide platform to parties to discuss these issues in calm atmosphere and reach to their own solutions. We provide different options using our vast experience in the field to resolve issues affecting the chances of settlement.
Petition for mutual consent divorce can be filed at any of the following place:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, parties presence are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think over their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

*DIVORCE LAWS

vary from religion to religion in a country with a rich cultural diversity like India. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955. Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872. Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954. A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

1. Divorce by Mutual Consent

Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. An important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife are required to reach a consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses. Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws, in general, recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. The aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds for divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with the support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by a person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case. Once an annulment is granted by the Indian Court, the status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain forms of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

The time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible within two to four weeks. Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only a mild variation.
For More information please contact us:

Consultants for Housing Co-operative Society in Pune
Ved Legal
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9763040088

*DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Divorce by Mutual Consent means when both Husband and wife has agreed amicably amongst themselves that they cannot live together anymore and that the best solution is to Divorce, without putting forth any allegations against each other, in the court of law, than such a Divorce petition presented jointly before the honorably court, is known as mutual consent Divorce.
It is the quickest form of divorce in India. The Conditions required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
(i) Husband and wife have been living separately for a period of one year or more,
(ii) That they are unable to live together,
(iii) And that both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage has totally collapsed, hence marriage should be dissolved.

As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.

PETITION FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE CAN BE FILED AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLACE:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, party’s presences are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL DIVORCE
Divorce by Mutual consent saves time, money and energy for both, Leaves no room for unnecessary quarrel.

By |November 1st, 2017|Divorce Advocates in Pune|Comments Off on Divorce Advocates in Pune

consultation on divorce

Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the old Hindu laws, divorce was viewed as forbidden and was not talked about as freely as it is spoken out today, but with the codification of the laws the provision of divorce were laid down The provision of “Divorce” has been dealt with under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being a true blue method whereby both the parties to the marriage, decide to break all the promises or vows taken at the time of marriage. All Hindus, Buddhist, Jains or Sikhs are covered under the divorce provisions of the act.

Grounds for Divorce
The following grounds can be invoked for securing a divorce under the act:

Adultery: During the period of marriage, if either spouse maintains sexual relations with a person other than his or her lawfully wedded companion.
1. Cruelty: After the marriage, subjecting the petitioner to cruelty.
2. Desertion: If either one of the parties to the marriage deserts the other for a consistent span of at least two years , prior to the filing of the petition by the other party.
3. Conversion to another religion by either party other than Hinduism
4. Mental Disorder: If the spouse of the petitioner suffers from any unsoundness of mind, mental illness or disorder that cannot be cured, then the petitioner can file for divorce
5. Virulent and Incurable Disease: in the form of leprosy.
6. Venerable Disease in Communicable form.
7. The renunciation of the world or entered any religious order.
8. Not heard being alive for a period of seven years or more.
Additional Grounds for Dissolution of the Marriage by the Wife
Under the act, the wife is entitled to seek divorce from her husband on the following grounds:
1. Where the husband has another living wife from his previous subsisting marriage, before the commencement of the act.
2. Post the marriage, the husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.
3. Where the wife was awarded an order or decree for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 or under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1975, by the court, in spite of the fact that she was living apart from her husband even before the passage of such decree or order. The conjugal relations between the parties failed to resume within one year or more, even after the passage of this order.
4. The marriage was performed before the attainment of 15 years of age by the wife, and on completion of 15 years and not before 18 years of age, the wife rejected the marriage Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a divorce petition can be filed by the parties only after the passage of one year from the marriage date.

The Irretrievable breakdown of Marriage
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 incorporated another ground for seeking divorce, namely the ‘Irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. As the term suggests, it leads to a situation whereby, either or both the parties to the marriage fine it impossible to peacefully cohabit with each other, due to personality’s clashes, differences in opinion and have lived separately from each other for a long period of time and are no longer too eager to further carry on their matrimonial relationship.

Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
*13B DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT —

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.]

(i) The period of 6 to 18 months provided in section 13B is a period of interregnum which is intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move. In this transitional period the parties or either of them may have second thoughts; Suman v. Surendra Kumar, AIR 2003 Raj 155.

(ii) The period of living separately for one year must be immediately preceding the presentation of petition. The expression ‘living separately’ connotes not living like husband and wife. It has no reference to the place of living. The parties may live under the same roof and yet they may not be living as husband and wife. The parties should have no desire to perform marital obligations; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

(iii) The period of six to eighteen months time is given in divorce by mutual consent as to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends. Mutual consent should continue till the divorce decree is passed. The court should be satisfied about the bona fides and consent of the parties. If there is no consent at the time of enquiry the court gets no jurisdiction to make a decree for divorce. If the court is held to have the power to make a decree solely based on the initial petition, it negates the whole idea of mutuality. There can be unilateral withdrawal of consent. Held, that since consent of the wife was obtained by fraud and wife was not willing to consent, there could be unilateral withdrawal, of consent; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

*PROCEDURE FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.
As a mutual consent divorce lawyers, we “VED LEGAL” provide platform to parties to discuss these issues in calm atmosphere and reach to their own solutions. We provide different options using our vast experience in the field to resolve issues affecting the chances of settlement.
Petition for mutual consent divorce can be filed at any of the following place:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, parties presence are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think over their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

*DIVORCE LAWS

vary from religion to religion in a country with a rich cultural diversity like India. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955. Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872. Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954. A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

1. Divorce by Mutual Consent

Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. An important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife are required to reach a consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses. Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws, in general, recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. The aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds for divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with the support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by a person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case. Once an annulment is granted by the Indian Court, the status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain forms of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

The time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible within two to four weeks. Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only a mild variation.
For More information please contact us:

Consultants for Housing Co-operative Society in Pune
Ved Legal
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9763040088

*DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Divorce by Mutual Consent means when both Husband and wife has agreed amicably amongst themselves that they cannot live together anymore and that the best solution is to Divorce, without putting forth any allegations against each other, in the court of law, than such a Divorce petition presented jointly before the honorably court, is known as mutual consent Divorce.
It is the quickest form of divorce in India. The Conditions required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
(i) Husband and wife have been living separately for a period of one year or more,
(ii) That they are unable to live together,
(iii) And that both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage has totally collapsed, hence marriage should be dissolved.

As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.

PETITION FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE CAN BE FILED AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLACE:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, party’s presences are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL DIVORCE
Divorce by Mutual consent saves time, money and energy for both, Leaves no room for unnecessary quarrel.

By |November 1st, 2017|consultation on divorce|Comments Off on consultation on divorce

Advocate For Divorce In Pune

Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the old Hindu laws, divorce was viewed as forbidden and was not talked about as freely as it is spoken out today, but with the codification of the laws the provision of divorce were laid down The provision of “Divorce” has been dealt with under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being a true blue method whereby both the parties to the marriage, decide to break all the promises or vows taken at the time of marriage. All Hindus, Buddhist, Jains or Sikhs are covered under the divorce provisions of the act.

Grounds for Divorce
The following grounds can be invoked for securing a divorce under the act:

Adultery: During the period of marriage, if either spouse maintains sexual relations with a person other than his or her lawfully wedded companion.
1. Cruelty: After the marriage, subjecting the petitioner to cruelty.
2. Desertion: If either one of the parties to the marriage deserts the other for a consistent span of at least two years , prior to the filing of the petition by the other party.
3. Conversion to another religion by either party other than Hinduism
4. Mental Disorder: If the spouse of the petitioner suffers from any unsoundness of mind, mental illness or disorder that cannot be cured, then the petitioner can file for divorce
5. Virulent and Incurable Disease: in the form of leprosy.
6. Venerable Disease in Communicable form.
7. The renunciation of the world or entered any religious order.
8. Not heard being alive for a period of seven years or more.
Additional Grounds for Dissolution of the Marriage by the Wife
Under the act, the wife is entitled to seek divorce from her husband on the following grounds:
1. Where the husband has another living wife from his previous subsisting marriage, before the commencement of the act.
2. Post the marriage, the husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.
3. Where the wife was awarded an order or decree for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 or under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1975, by the court, in spite of the fact that she was living apart from her husband even before the passage of such decree or order. The conjugal relations between the parties failed to resume within one year or more, even after the passage of this order.
4. The marriage was performed before the attainment of 15 years of age by the wife, and on completion of 15 years and not before 18 years of age, the wife rejected the marriage Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a divorce petition can be filed by the parties only after the passage of one year from the marriage date.

The Irretrievable breakdown of Marriage
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 incorporated another ground for seeking divorce, namely the ‘Irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. As the term suggests, it leads to a situation whereby, either or both the parties to the marriage fine it impossible to peacefully cohabit with each other, due to personality’s clashes, differences in opinion and have lived separately from each other for a long period of time and are no longer too eager to further carry on their matrimonial relationship.

Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
*13B DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT —

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.]

(i) The period of 6 to 18 months provided in section 13B is a period of interregnum which is intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move. In this transitional period the parties or either of them may have second thoughts; Suman v. Surendra Kumar, AIR 2003 Raj 155.

(ii) The period of living separately for one year must be immediately preceding the presentation of petition. The expression ‘living separately’ connotes not living like husband and wife. It has no reference to the place of living. The parties may live under the same roof and yet they may not be living as husband and wife. The parties should have no desire to perform marital obligations; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

(iii) The period of six to eighteen months time is given in divorce by mutual consent as to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends. Mutual consent should continue till the divorce decree is passed. The court should be satisfied about the bona fides and consent of the parties. If there is no consent at the time of enquiry the court gets no jurisdiction to make a decree for divorce. If the court is held to have the power to make a decree solely based on the initial petition, it negates the whole idea of mutuality. There can be unilateral withdrawal of consent. Held, that since consent of the wife was obtained by fraud and wife was not willing to consent, there could be unilateral withdrawal, of consent; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

*PROCEDURE FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.
As a mutual consent divorce lawyers, we “VED LEGAL” provide platform to parties to discuss these issues in calm atmosphere and reach to their own solutions. We provide different options using our vast experience in the field to resolve issues affecting the chances of settlement.
Petition for mutual consent divorce can be filed at any of the following place:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, parties presence are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think over their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

*DIVORCE LAWS

vary from religion to religion in a country with a rich cultural diversity like India. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955. Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872. Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954. A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

1. Divorce by Mutual Consent

Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. An important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife are required to reach a consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses. Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws, in general, recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. The aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds for divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with the support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by a person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case. Once an annulment is granted by the Indian Court, the status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain forms of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

The time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible within two to four weeks. Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only a mild variation.
For More information please contact us:

Consultants for Housing Co-operative Society in Pune
Ved Legal
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9763040088

*DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Divorce by Mutual Consent means when both Husband and wife has agreed amicably amongst themselves that they cannot live together anymore and that the best solution is to Divorce, without putting forth any allegations against each other, in the court of law, than such a Divorce petition presented jointly before the honorably court, is known as mutual consent Divorce.
It is the quickest form of divorce in India. The Conditions required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
(i) Husband and wife have been living separately for a period of one year or more,
(ii) That they are unable to live together,
(iii) And that both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage has totally collapsed, hence marriage should be dissolved.

As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.

PETITION FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE CAN BE FILED AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLACE:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, party’s presences are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL DIVORCE
Divorce by Mutual consent saves time, money and energy for both, Leaves no room for unnecessary quarrel.

By |November 1st, 2017|Advocate For Divorce In Pune|Comments Off on Advocate For Divorce In Pune

consultants for Divorce in pune

Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the old Hindu laws, divorce was viewed as forbidden and was not talked about as freely as it is spoken out today, but with the codification of the laws the provision of divorce were laid down The provision of “Divorce” has been dealt with under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being a true blue method whereby both the parties to the marriage, decide to break all the promises or vows taken at the time of marriage. All Hindus, Buddhist, Jains or Sikhs are covered under the divorce provisions of the act.

Grounds for Divorce
The following grounds can be invoked for securing a divorce under the act:

Adultery: During the period of marriage, if either spouse maintains sexual relations with a person other than his or her lawfully wedded companion.
1. Cruelty: After the marriage, subjecting the petitioner to cruelty.
2. Desertion: If either one of the parties to the marriage deserts the other for a consistent span of at least two years , prior to the filing of the petition by the other party.
3. Conversion to another religion by either party other than Hinduism
4. Mental Disorder: If the spouse of the petitioner suffers from any unsoundness of mind, mental illness or disorder that cannot be cured, then the petitioner can file for divorce
5. Virulent and Incurable Disease: in the form of leprosy.
6. Venerable Disease in Communicable form.
7. The renunciation of the world or entered any religious order.
8. Not heard being alive for a period of seven years or more.
Additional Grounds for Dissolution of the Marriage by the Wife
Under the act, the wife is entitled to seek divorce from her husband on the following grounds:
1. Where the husband has another living wife from his previous subsisting marriage, before the commencement of the act.
2. Post the marriage, the husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.
3. Where the wife was awarded an order or decree for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 or under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1975, by the court, in spite of the fact that she was living apart from her husband even before the passage of such decree or order. The conjugal relations between the parties failed to resume within one year or more, even after the passage of this order.
4. The marriage was performed before the attainment of 15 years of age by the wife, and on completion of 15 years and not before 18 years of age, the wife rejected the marriage Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a divorce petition can be filed by the parties only after the passage of one year from the marriage date.

The Irretrievable breakdown of Marriage
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 incorporated another ground for seeking divorce, namely the ‘Irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. As the term suggests, it leads to a situation whereby, either or both the parties to the marriage fine it impossible to peacefully cohabit with each other, due to personality’s clashes, differences in opinion and have lived separately from each other for a long period of time and are no longer too eager to further carry on their matrimonial relationship.

Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
*13B DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT —

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.]

(i) The period of 6 to 18 months provided in section 13B is a period of interregnum which is intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move. In this transitional period the parties or either of them may have second thoughts; Suman v. Surendra Kumar, AIR 2003 Raj 155.

(ii) The period of living separately for one year must be immediately preceding the presentation of petition. The expression ‘living separately’ connotes not living like husband and wife. It has no reference to the place of living. The parties may live under the same roof and yet they may not be living as husband and wife. The parties should have no desire to perform marital obligations; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

(iii) The period of six to eighteen months time is given in divorce by mutual consent as to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends. Mutual consent should continue till the divorce decree is passed. The court should be satisfied about the bona fides and consent of the parties. If there is no consent at the time of enquiry the court gets no jurisdiction to make a decree for divorce. If the court is held to have the power to make a decree solely based on the initial petition, it negates the whole idea of mutuality. There can be unilateral withdrawal of consent. Held, that since consent of the wife was obtained by fraud and wife was not willing to consent, there could be unilateral withdrawal, of consent; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

*PROCEDURE FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.
As a mutual consent divorce lawyers, we “VED LEGAL” provide platform to parties to discuss these issues in calm atmosphere and reach to their own solutions. We provide different options using our vast experience in the field to resolve issues affecting the chances of settlement.
Petition for mutual consent divorce can be filed at any of the following place:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, parties presence are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think over their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

*DIVORCE LAWS

vary from religion to religion in a country with a rich cultural diversity like India. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955. Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872. Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954. A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

1. Divorce by Mutual Consent

Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. An important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife are required to reach a consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses. Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws, in general, recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. The aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds for divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with the support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by a person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case. Once an annulment is granted by the Indian Court, the status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain forms of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

The time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible within two to four weeks. Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only a mild variation.
For More information please contact us:

Consultants for Housing Co-operative Society in Pune
Ved Legal
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9763040088

*DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Divorce by Mutual Consent means when both Husband and wife has agreed amicably amongst themselves that they cannot live together anymore and that the best solution is to Divorce, without putting forth any allegations against each other, in the court of law, than such a Divorce petition presented jointly before the honorably court, is known as mutual consent Divorce.
It is the quickest form of divorce in India. The Conditions required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
(i) Husband and wife have been living separately for a period of one year or more,
(ii) That they are unable to live together,
(iii) And that both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage has totally collapsed, hence marriage should be dissolved.

As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.

PETITION FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE CAN BE FILED AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLACE:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, party’s presences are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL DIVORCE
Divorce by Mutual consent saves time, money and energy for both, Leaves no room for unnecessary quarrel.

By |November 1st, 2017|consultants for Divorce in pune|Comments Off on consultants for Divorce in pune

Best Lawyers for Divorce in Pune

Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the old Hindu laws, divorce was viewed as forbidden and was not talked about as freely as it is spoken out today, but with the codification of the laws the provision of divorce were laid down The provision of “Divorce” has been dealt with under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being a true blue method whereby both the parties to the marriage, decide to break all the promises or vows taken at the time of marriage. All Hindus, Buddhist, Jains or Sikhs are covered under the divorce provisions of the act.

Grounds for Divorce
The following grounds can be invoked for securing a divorce under the act:

Adultery: During the period of marriage, if either spouse maintains sexual relations with a person other than his or her lawfully wedded companion.
1. Cruelty: After the marriage, subjecting the petitioner to cruelty.
2. Desertion: If either one of the parties to the marriage deserts the other for a consistent span of at least two years , prior to the filing of the petition by the other party.
3. Conversion to another religion by either party other than Hinduism
4. Mental Disorder: If the spouse of the petitioner suffers from any unsoundness of mind, mental illness or disorder that cannot be cured, then the petitioner can file for divorce
5. Virulent and Incurable Disease: in the form of leprosy.
6. Venerable Disease in Communicable form.
7. The renunciation of the world or entered any religious order.
8. Not heard being alive for a period of seven years or more.
Additional Grounds for Dissolution of the Marriage by the Wife
Under the act, the wife is entitled to seek divorce from her husband on the following grounds:
1. Where the husband has another living wife from his previous subsisting marriage, before the commencement of the act.
2. Post the marriage, the husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.
3. Where the wife was awarded an order or decree for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 or under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1975, by the court, in spite of the fact that she was living apart from her husband even before the passage of such decree or order. The conjugal relations between the parties failed to resume within one year or more, even after the passage of this order.
4. The marriage was performed before the attainment of 15 years of age by the wife, and on completion of 15 years and not before 18 years of age, the wife rejected the marriage Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a divorce petition can be filed by the parties only after the passage of one year from the marriage date.

The Irretrievable breakdown of Marriage
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 incorporated another ground for seeking divorce, namely the ‘Irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. As the term suggests, it leads to a situation whereby, either or both the parties to the marriage fine it impossible to peacefully cohabit with each other, due to personality’s clashes, differences in opinion and have lived separately from each other for a long period of time and are no longer too eager to further carry on their matrimonial relationship.

Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
*13B DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT —

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.]

(i) The period of 6 to 18 months provided in section 13B is a period of interregnum which is intended to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move. In this transitional period the parties or either of them may have second thoughts; Suman v. Surendra Kumar, AIR 2003 Raj 155.

(ii) The period of living separately for one year must be immediately preceding the presentation of petition. The expression ‘living separately’ connotes not living like husband and wife. It has no reference to the place of living. The parties may live under the same roof and yet they may not be living as husband and wife. The parties should have no desire to perform marital obligations; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

(iii) The period of six to eighteen months time is given in divorce by mutual consent as to give time and opportunity to the parties to reflect on their move and seek advice from relations and friends. Mutual consent should continue till the divorce decree is passed. The court should be satisfied about the bona fides and consent of the parties. If there is no consent at the time of enquiry the court gets no jurisdiction to make a decree for divorce. If the court is held to have the power to make a decree solely based on the initial petition, it negates the whole idea of mutuality. There can be unilateral withdrawal of consent. Held, that since consent of the wife was obtained by fraud and wife was not willing to consent, there could be unilateral withdrawal, of consent; Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash, AIR 1992 SC 1904.

*PROCEDURE FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.
As a mutual consent divorce lawyers, we “VED LEGAL” provide platform to parties to discuss these issues in calm atmosphere and reach to their own solutions. We provide different options using our vast experience in the field to resolve issues affecting the chances of settlement.
Petition for mutual consent divorce can be filed at any of the following place:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, parties presence are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think over their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

*DIVORCE LAWS

vary from religion to religion in a country with a rich cultural diversity like India. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955. Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872. Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954. A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

1. Divorce by Mutual Consent

Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. An important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife are required to reach a consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses. Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws, in general, recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. The aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds for divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with the support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by a person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case. Once an annulment is granted by the Indian Court, the status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain forms of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

The time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible within two to four weeks. Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only a mild variation.
For More information please contact us:

Consultants for Housing Co-operative Society in Pune
Ved Legal
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Mobile: +91 9763040088

*DIVORCE BY MUTUAL CONSENT

Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the India Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Divorce by Mutual Consent means when both Husband and wife has agreed amicably amongst themselves that they cannot live together anymore and that the best solution is to Divorce, without putting forth any allegations against each other, in the court of law, than such a Divorce petition presented jointly before the honorably court, is known as mutual consent Divorce.
It is the quickest form of divorce in India. The Conditions required under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
(i) Husband and wife have been living separately for a period of one year or more,
(ii) That they are unable to live together,
(iii) And that both husband and wife have mutually agreed that the marriage has totally collapsed, hence marriage should be dissolved.

As per law, duration/time of obtaining mutual consent divorce is six months. Although, parties have option of filing the second motion petition any time between six months and eighteen months from the date of the filing of the Mutual Consent Divorce Petition.

PETITION FOR MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE CAN BE FILED AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PLACE:-
• Place where marriage had taken place
• Place where husband and wife last resided together.
• Place where wife is residing at the time of filing of the Petition

Once petition for divorce by mutual consent is filed, party’s presences are required in the Court for recording of the statement. In the event one of the party is unable to come, such party can appear through power of attorney. Such power of attorney preferably should be a family member of the spouse. Once statement is recorded, it is commonly called First Motion has been granted.
After passing of first motion, parties are called upon to wait for six months period before moving Petition for second motion. This period is extendible unto eighteen months. This six months period in mutual consent divorce is generally called cooling-off period. Six months period are given to parties to think their relationship again. It is given for reconciliation.
After six months period, if parties have been unable to resolve their differences, they will have to appear in the Court again. Statement of parties would be recorded again.
During the period of six months i.e. before moving second motion, both parties have liberty to withdraw their consent for divorce.
After this Court passes an order dissolving the marriage by granting decree of divorce and thereby marriage stands dissolved.

ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL DIVORCE
Divorce by Mutual consent saves time, money and energy for both, Leaves no room for unnecessary quarrel.

By |November 1st, 2017|Best Lawyers for Divorce in Pune|Comments Off on Best Lawyers for Divorce in Pune

Builder/ Promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society

REGISTER A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY

First general body meeting (before registration)
In this meeting under Society’s Model Bye-law 3(iii), the Chief Promoter (could be the builder) is primarily selected by the promoters, who are members co-signing the registration application before the Registering Authority, under Bye-law 3(xii).
Application for registration

Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied with the society resolutions and signatures of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the society is registered or its registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit registration proposal to the registering authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed society.
Co-operative Societies Commissioner & Registrar’s GR No. SAGRUVO/1094/Pra.Kra 277/14C dated 10 March 1995 says “By exercising the powers in section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1960 the government is pleased to exempt the provision of minimum 10 members for registering co-operative Housing society under sub-clause 1 in Section 6 of the said Act subject to the conditions that the plinth area of each flat in the proposed co-operative Housing Society should not be more than 700 sq. ft and FSI should not be balance for utilization in the proposed societies land/ building.
If builder/ promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the District Deputy Registrar, who has been given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963. While submitting the said proposal, a Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200 is required.

Approval by Registrar
It is the duty of the concerned Registrar to register the Co-operative Housing Society, by scrutinizing the proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, and shall make an arrangement of issuing certificate of registration society under Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, and copy of the registered bye-law, memorandum regarding registration of society to the chief promoter. The order regarding registration of society should have been sent for publishing in government gazette to the Government Printing Press for appropriate action. It is necessary to take decision on the registration of the society within a period of two months from the date of the proposal of the society submitted to the Registrar.
If proposal of society registration is denied or no decision is taken within two months then it is necessary to send that proposal to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Co. operative societies Act, can be approached.

First General Body Meeting obligatory Agenda (after registration):
• To elect a Chairman for the meeting
• To admit persons to membership who have applied for membership of the society.
• To elect a provisional Managing Committee
• To receive and approve the statement of account as prepared by the Chief Promoter of the society up to 14 days prior to the first general body meeting of the society.
• To authorize the committee to secure conveyance of right title and interest in the property in the name of the society from the promoter builder
• To impose restrictions on raising loan amount from outside
• To appoint internal auditor and to fix his remuneration
• To authorize one of the members of the provisional committee to call the first meeting of the provisional committee
• To take decision about taking membership of District Housing Federation and other institutions
• To give power to one member of provisional management committee to call meeting of the managing committee
• To consider the matters raised by the member except these matters which are necessary for giving advance notice with the permission of chairman and eleventh hour matter and to make resolution in that regard.

*BUILDER’S HANDOVER PROCESS:-
The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.
It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:
1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details
2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan
3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities
4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings
5. Registration and parent documents
6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings
7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)
8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)
9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP
10.AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)
11.Lift license details and next renewal date
12.STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings
13.Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid
14.Handover of corpus amount to the association
15.Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)
16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs
17.Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance
18.Audited account statement at the time of handover
19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

*SOCIETY REGISTRATION AND FORMATION
Forming a legal society is of utmost importance. It helps society owners to reap unlimited benefits and maintain smooth functioning. It is mandatory for developers to create societies and provide a final handover to the owners. However, many developers do not comply with these procedures and hence flat owners lose that added benefit that a legal society enjoys.
We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.
We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.
Our specialized services include:
Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments
Account formation and legal documentation

*SOCIETY FORMATION AND HANDOVER
60 % of the Promoters are must be ready to form Co-op. Housing Society.
If flats are sold as per the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act,1963 [MOFA] then it is the duty of the Builder / Developer to form society and hand over the Account + Documents to Provisional Working Committee [PWC] In this case the builder become CP and other flat owners become Promoters for Registration purpose. This society registers under Co-operation.
When the builder is not registering society due to some reasons or not support to registered society then flat purchasers can apply for registration of Co-operative Housing Society under Non Co-operation. In this case one of the flat owners should be elected as CP for Registration purpose. In this case some more time is taken to registered society as registrar is issue notice to builder for Non Co-operation. If no response then ex-party decision are taken for registration of the society. Now all the case of Non Co-operation Registration decisions is given by District Deputy Registrar [DDR] then society is registered

All flat owners should hold meeting and elect Promoter. All power for Registrations, documentation etc. should be given to promoter. The resolution should be passed and must be sign by all flat owners who wish to become member of the Co-operative Housing Society
Appoint Consultant / Legal Advocate for registration and ask him to comply all requirements. All members together also can do work for registration.
For registration of Co-op. Hsg. Society the following documents should be filed to Dy. Registrar / Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Department area concern in order as follow
Applications for Name to be reserved for Proposed Society’s
Form of resolution electing a CP and Promoter and giving them authority for doing certain acts on behalf of the proposed society
Application form “A” 4 copies
Information in Annexture ” A ” ” B ” ” C ” 4 copies
Bye-Law of the Society 2 copies
Details of Accounts Annexture ” D ” 2 copies
Bank Balance Certificate in Original 1 copy in Original
Agreement of Flat 1 copy
Advocate Search Report 2 copy [Title Certificate]
Society’s Building Plan 2 copies
Lay Out Plan 2 copies
Sanction Plan from Authority 2 copies
O.C / C.C copy 2 copies
Promoter’s Guarantee in form ” X ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form” Y ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form ” Z ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copies
7/12 or City Survey Revenue Record of Land [not more than 1 month old] 1 copy
Promoters Affidavit On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Indemnity Bond On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
NA Certificate / ULC 2 copy
Plot area Land Map 2 copies
Scheme
Registration Fee Challan for Rs.2500 1 copy original
Builder Non Co-operation form Z On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized if required 1 copy
CP Affidavit for Child Labour on Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1copy

All this forms are available at your District Co-operative Housing Society Federation.
On submission of above document the Dy./Asst. Registrar will go through the papers And document. If found OK he will make order for issue of Registration Certificate.
If any deficiencies are found then the applicant will be inform accordingly and documents will be corrected wherever necessary. When all papers are in order, he will issue order for issue of Registration Certificate.
Registration Certificate is issued with covering letter and Officer’s name is mentioned who will attend First General Meeting. Normally the Officer concern is not attending meeting. In absence , all member has to hold meeting and has to elect Provisional Working Committee [PWC] whose working period will be ONE Year. After electing PWC the member of PWC has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of Officer’s whose name is in Covering latter to Dy./Asst. Registrar. All Rule and Regulations ,resolution and minutes which is written in AGM Register must be sign by Officer’s name is mentioned in covering letter it is the most important step.[Many society forget this which create problem latter] After First Annual General Meeting PWC is replaced with new Working Committee [WC] whose working period will be FIVE Year.The new WC election can conduct before PWC time over with proper election process. WC also has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of election officer to Dy./Asst. Registrar
When application for Name reservation of Society has given, the Dy./Asst. Registrar give instruction to Open Bank Account in Dist. Central Co-op. Bank The Account has to opened in the name of CP And deposit all money of Share Capital Contribution [per member Share Money is Rs. 50*10 = Rs. 500 i.e. 10 share of 50 rupees each] and Member ship Fees of Rs. 100/- i.e. Per member you have to deposit Rs. 600/- in bank and obtain Bank Balance Certificate and submitted it to Dy./Asst. Registrar. After First Annual General Body Meeting the Bank Account has to transfer in the name of Society. For bank Account operation Chairman sign must and either Secretary and Treasurer. Expenditure has to be made as per provision of Bye-Laws. Bank and Cash Transaction [Collection and Payment are handled by Treasure when Billing Clerk or Accountant are not been kept.

*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY:-
Putting a board displaying name of the society, full address with registered survey No. and Registration No. near the main gate of the society which could be seen easily.
To raise funds for the society.
Recommend to the society for deciding maintenance fee, repair and deposit amount.
To give membership, pass the resignation of members similarly to take decision regarding nomination of the members.
Internal inspection of the flat.
To take decision on the various applications received from the members.
To take action against the defaulting members.
To issue Share Certificate to the members.
To call monthly meeting of the committee and finalize its minutes.
To determine agenda of the annual meeting and to call Annual Meeting in prescribed period.
To organize special general body meeting as required.
To make arrangement of election for the formation of a new committee before expiring the term of the managing committee.
To select office bearers by forming the new committee after election.
After taking charge of the office by the members of the managing committee,it is obligatory on them to execute bond under Section 73(1) (1AB) in M-20 (bond paper of Rs.100/- and each separately on the cost of the society) and to include the same in the record of the society. Similarly, the responsibility to inform the concerned Registrar in the regard is entrusted with Secretary.
It is necessary to take detailed note of taking charge, handover of record with its detailed list of the record received in the minutes of the managing committee meeting. Thereby the record regarding exactly which files received in whose possession and on which date is available with the society permanently.
To fill up the vacant post in the managing committee as per provision in the bye-laws and Rule No. 60(5) of Maharashtra Co-operative Rule 1961.
To accept the resignation of the members of Managing Committee.
To keep neatly the files of members and society records.
To finalize the financial statement of the society within 45 days at the end of the financial year.
To submit society’s record for Audit.
To make available papers mentioned in Section 32 as per members demand.
To take decision as per provisions in by laws and laws on the complaints received from the members.
To give necessary information to the members if he contacted society for selling of the flat and co-operate him for selling as per provisions in by-laws and laws.
To take decision on the applicant regarding letting of the flat and inform the same to the concerned member within prescribed time limit.
To make agreements as necessary on behalf of the society.
To take necessary action for keeping the property of the society in order.
To take insurance policy of the building and property of the society.
To give approval for change in utilization of flat.
To inspect flat of the member internally by taking prior appointment for the purposes of leakage/structural audit etc.
To initiate action as per provision in law if the member makes hindrance in internal inspection.
To sanction the amendments in laws, rules, bye-laws suggested by the government from time to time with the approval of the general body meeting.
It is obligatory on the part of the government to give details of the bill/bifurcation and also as per which resolution/ bye- law if the members demand so.
It is obligatory on the part of the society to accept less amount paid by the member than the amount shown in the bill and it is necessary to give receipt of thereof.
There is a provision in the sub-rule about how much maximum interest to be charged. However, it is necessary to make resolution in the general body meeting about charging interest.
By doing structural audit of the building, necessary repairs should have been carried out with the approval of the general body meeting.
If the society does not have funds and if any member is ready to do leakage work on his own cost, then to form the rules in that regard and take approval of the general body meeting for the same.
To submit the fault rectifying report in ‘O’ form by rectifying the faults in the audit report, within three months to the Auditor and to send its copy to the Registrar.

*WHY A CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY IS BETTER THAN APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION?
1. The builder is interested in using the increased FSI which will be awarded by the govt. for that area at any time in future. If the ‘Society’ is formed, then upon the transfer and conveyance of land in favour of the Society, the increased FSI will be owned by the Society and the builder shall not have any right over it. But if it is an Apartment, then the builder owns that increased FSI and can use it anywhere. Thus, the builder will keep taking advantage of every increase in FSI throughout in the future.

2. In an Apartment, the builder retains the ownership of the open spaces which are not included in the saleable area. Example – Terrace or any open parking/stairs space which is not included in the saleable area. But in case of Society, the builder cannot retain any right on any of these areas and has to hand over everything to the Society. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act also provides for the ownership of an individual Apartment in a building and to make such Apartment heritable and transferable property.

3. Bye-laws and Rules of ‘Society’ are binding on all the residents and nobody can act as per his/her whims. Hence, if the Society decides to ban any objectionable commercial activities in the flats such as noise-making music classes or using the flat for catering or courier activities etc or not to rent out to bachelors etc, then all the residents have to abide by it. But if it is an Apartment, then owners can violate the Apartment Rules and the Apartment Body can just file a case in the Civil Court. However, while the Society disputes are resolved in a separate Court i.e. Co-operative Court dealing with Society matters and hence they are fast resolved whereas, the Apartment matters have to be taken to the normal Civil Court and hence they typically take years and decades to resolve.

4. When the building contemplates redevelopment after 25-30 years, the Society’s decision will be final and hence the Society members will have negotiation power with the builder at that time. But if in case of an Apartment, the consent of every Apartment-owner is required and hence it goes into an endless delay due to lack of a common decision acceptable to everybody. There are many instances in Mumbai wherein finally the dilapidated buildings had to be forcefully vacated by an eviction order from Court since they became unlivable. Thus, while the decisions are taken on a ‘majority’ basis in Society, the Apartment goes with rule of ‘Acceptable by Everybody’. So if the builder has retained even one flat in an Apartment, he will play a veto card in his favour at the time of redevelopment.

*FORMATION / REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE
According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium
(b) Private Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant Societies
(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for Co-operative Housing Society Registration begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model Bye-laws.
6. Bank Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).
11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company.
15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society, it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

*CHECKLIST FOR HANDOVER OF SOCIETY FROM BUILDER
During the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.
The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1)Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2)Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3)Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4)Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: Common Floor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5)Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.
6)Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

*BUILDER-NON COOPERATION CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY
If builder/promoter procrastinate in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the authorized officer (District Dy. Registrar in the respective district, who have given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963 (For making regulation for encouraging their constructions, their sale, management and transfer).
While submitting the said proposal, following documents are Necessary.
• 7/12 extract of the land or property card.
• Competent Authority Certificate regarding non-Agricultural land.
• Order regarding applicable/non-applicable Land ceiling Act Map of the construction approved by the competent authority.
• Letter of given permission for construction.
• Completion certificate of Construction.
• Development Agreement if the land is taken for development.
• Power of Authority letter of the Land.
• Copy of the Title search Report.
• Agreement copy of the flat purchased.
• Architect certificate regarding construction.
• List of the Members.
• Scheme of the Society.
• Application regarding reservation of Name.
• Minimum 10 Members shall necessary for the registration of the Society.
• Application for registration of Society (A Form)
• Table containing information of the society (B Form)
• Table containing information of the members (C Form)
• Statement of Accounts of the members (D Form)
• Notarized guarantee letter of the chief promoter of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 100/-
• Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200/-
• Affidavit of the Members (Minimum 10 promoters’ Affidavit)
• Two copies of bye laws approved by the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar, Maharashtra State, Pune.
• Bank balance statement of the promoter members who have deposited Rs.500/- each as a share and admission fee Rs.100/- in District
• Central Co-operative Bank after getting sanction for the reservation of name in district of Rs.2500/- paid as society Registration fee in the Government Treasure.

The proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, the competent authority by taking hearing, issued orders to the concerned officer for registering the society.

The scrutiny of the registration proposal submitted after fulfillment of documents as mentioned above and criterion will be done after taking into consideration the instructions in the circular/ directives regarding registration issued by the Government/ Commissioner, Co-operation. It is obligatory on the concerned Registrar to make registration by considering various provisions in the Act and Rules and instructions given in the circular/ directives.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF CO-OP. SOCIETIES
1.The first Step is to get 10 Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society.
2.A Provisional Committee should be formed and a chief Promoter should be elected from amongst them.
3.A Name for the Society has to be selected.
4.An Application has to be made to the Registration Authority for reservation of Name and a letter to that effect has to be obtained confirming the reservation of Name. The name once reserved is valid for 3 Months.
5.The entrance fees and share capital has to be collected from the prospective members.
6.A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the proposed society as per the directions of the registration Authority. The entrance fees and share money has to be deposited in the bank account and the certificate from the bank has to be obtained in that respect.
7.The registration fees has to be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India and receipted 1challan thereof is to be obtained.
8.The application for registration of the society should be submitted to the Registrar of Societies of the concerned municipal ward. The documents to be submitted for registration are as follows:

a. Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
b. List of promoter members
c. Bank Certificate
d. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
e. 4 copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
f. Proof of payment of registration charges.
g. Other documents like affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
9.The Registrar will enter the particulars in register of application maintained in Form “B” and give serial number and issue receipt in acknowledgment of the same.
10.On registration, the Registrar will notify the registration of the Society in the Official Gazette and issue Registration Certificate.

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Builder’s Handover Process

REGISTER A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY

First general body meeting (before registration)
In this meeting under Society’s Model Bye-law 3(iii), the Chief Promoter (could be the builder) is primarily selected by the promoters, who are members co-signing the registration application before the Registering Authority, under Bye-law 3(xii).
Application for registration

Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied with the society resolutions and signatures of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the society is registered or its registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit registration proposal to the registering authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed society.
Co-operative Societies Commissioner & Registrar’s GR No. SAGRUVO/1094/Pra.Kra 277/14C dated 10 March 1995 says “By exercising the powers in section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1960 the government is pleased to exempt the provision of minimum 10 members for registering co-operative Housing society under sub-clause 1 in Section 6 of the said Act subject to the conditions that the plinth area of each flat in the proposed co-operative Housing Society should not be more than 700 sq. ft and FSI should not be balance for utilization in the proposed societies land/ building.
If builder/ promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the District Deputy Registrar, who has been given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963. While submitting the said proposal, a Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200 is required.

Approval by Registrar
It is the duty of the concerned Registrar to register the Co-operative Housing Society, by scrutinizing the proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, and shall make an arrangement of issuing certificate of registration society under Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, and copy of the registered bye-law, memorandum regarding registration of society to the chief promoter. The order regarding registration of society should have been sent for publishing in government gazette to the Government Printing Press for appropriate action. It is necessary to take decision on the registration of the society within a period of two months from the date of the proposal of the society submitted to the Registrar.
If proposal of society registration is denied or no decision is taken within two months then it is necessary to send that proposal to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Co. operative societies Act, can be approached.

First General Body Meeting obligatory Agenda (after registration):
• To elect a Chairman for the meeting
• To admit persons to membership who have applied for membership of the society.
• To elect a provisional Managing Committee
• To receive and approve the statement of account as prepared by the Chief Promoter of the society up to 14 days prior to the first general body meeting of the society.
• To authorize the committee to secure conveyance of right title and interest in the property in the name of the society from the promoter builder
• To impose restrictions on raising loan amount from outside
• To appoint internal auditor and to fix his remuneration
• To authorize one of the members of the provisional committee to call the first meeting of the provisional committee
• To take decision about taking membership of District Housing Federation and other institutions
• To give power to one member of provisional management committee to call meeting of the managing committee
• To consider the matters raised by the member except these matters which are necessary for giving advance notice with the permission of chairman and eleventh hour matter and to make resolution in that regard.

*BUILDER’S HANDOVER PROCESS:-
The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.
It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:
1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details
2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan
3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities
4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings
5. Registration and parent documents
6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings
7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)
8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)
9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP
10.AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)
11.Lift license details and next renewal date
12.STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings
13.Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid
14.Handover of corpus amount to the association
15.Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)
16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs
17.Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance
18.Audited account statement at the time of handover
19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

*SOCIETY REGISTRATION AND FORMATION
Forming a legal society is of utmost importance. It helps society owners to reap unlimited benefits and maintain smooth functioning. It is mandatory for developers to create societies and provide a final handover to the owners. However, many developers do not comply with these procedures and hence flat owners lose that added benefit that a legal society enjoys.
We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.
We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.
Our specialized services include:
Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments
Account formation and legal documentation

*SOCIETY FORMATION AND HANDOVER
60 % of the Promoters are must be ready to form Co-op. Housing Society.
If flats are sold as per the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act,1963 [MOFA] then it is the duty of the Builder / Developer to form society and hand over the Account + Documents to Provisional Working Committee [PWC] In this case the builder become CP and other flat owners become Promoters for Registration purpose. This society registers under Co-operation.
When the builder is not registering society due to some reasons or not support to registered society then flat purchasers can apply for registration of Co-operative Housing Society under Non Co-operation. In this case one of the flat owners should be elected as CP for Registration purpose. In this case some more time is taken to registered society as registrar is issue notice to builder for Non Co-operation. If no response then ex-party decision are taken for registration of the society. Now all the case of Non Co-operation Registration decisions is given by District Deputy Registrar [DDR] then society is registered

All flat owners should hold meeting and elect Promoter. All power for Registrations, documentation etc. should be given to promoter. The resolution should be passed and must be sign by all flat owners who wish to become member of the Co-operative Housing Society
Appoint Consultant / Legal Advocate for registration and ask him to comply all requirements. All members together also can do work for registration.
For registration of Co-op. Hsg. Society the following documents should be filed to Dy. Registrar / Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Department area concern in order as follow
Applications for Name to be reserved for Proposed Society’s
Form of resolution electing a CP and Promoter and giving them authority for doing certain acts on behalf of the proposed society
Application form “A” 4 copies
Information in Annexture ” A ” ” B ” ” C ” 4 copies
Bye-Law of the Society 2 copies
Details of Accounts Annexture ” D ” 2 copies
Bank Balance Certificate in Original 1 copy in Original
Agreement of Flat 1 copy
Advocate Search Report 2 copy [Title Certificate]
Society’s Building Plan 2 copies
Lay Out Plan 2 copies
Sanction Plan from Authority 2 copies
O.C / C.C copy 2 copies
Promoter’s Guarantee in form ” X ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form” Y ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form ” Z ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copies
7/12 or City Survey Revenue Record of Land [not more than 1 month old] 1 copy
Promoters Affidavit On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Indemnity Bond On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
NA Certificate / ULC 2 copy
Plot area Land Map 2 copies
Scheme
Registration Fee Challan for Rs.2500 1 copy original
Builder Non Co-operation form Z On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized if required 1 copy
CP Affidavit for Child Labour on Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1copy

All this forms are available at your District Co-operative Housing Society Federation.
On submission of above document the Dy./Asst. Registrar will go through the papers And document. If found OK he will make order for issue of Registration Certificate.
If any deficiencies are found then the applicant will be inform accordingly and documents will be corrected wherever necessary. When all papers are in order, he will issue order for issue of Registration Certificate.
Registration Certificate is issued with covering letter and Officer’s name is mentioned who will attend First General Meeting. Normally the Officer concern is not attending meeting. In absence , all member has to hold meeting and has to elect Provisional Working Committee [PWC] whose working period will be ONE Year. After electing PWC the member of PWC has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of Officer’s whose name is in Covering latter to Dy./Asst. Registrar. All Rule and Regulations ,resolution and minutes which is written in AGM Register must be sign by Officer’s name is mentioned in covering letter it is the most important step.[Many society forget this which create problem latter] After First Annual General Meeting PWC is replaced with new Working Committee [WC] whose working period will be FIVE Year.The new WC election can conduct before PWC time over with proper election process. WC also has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of election officer to Dy./Asst. Registrar
When application for Name reservation of Society has given, the Dy./Asst. Registrar give instruction to Open Bank Account in Dist. Central Co-op. Bank The Account has to opened in the name of CP And deposit all money of Share Capital Contribution [per member Share Money is Rs. 50*10 = Rs. 500 i.e. 10 share of 50 rupees each] and Member ship Fees of Rs. 100/- i.e. Per member you have to deposit Rs. 600/- in bank and obtain Bank Balance Certificate and submitted it to Dy./Asst. Registrar. After First Annual General Body Meeting the Bank Account has to transfer in the name of Society. For bank Account operation Chairman sign must and either Secretary and Treasurer. Expenditure has to be made as per provision of Bye-Laws. Bank and Cash Transaction [Collection and Payment are handled by Treasure when Billing Clerk or Accountant are not been kept.

*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY:-
Putting a board displaying name of the society, full address with registered survey No. and Registration No. near the main gate of the society which could be seen easily.
To raise funds for the society.
Recommend to the society for deciding maintenance fee, repair and deposit amount.
To give membership, pass the resignation of members similarly to take decision regarding nomination of the members.
Internal inspection of the flat.
To take decision on the various applications received from the members.
To take action against the defaulting members.
To issue Share Certificate to the members.
To call monthly meeting of the committee and finalize its minutes.
To determine agenda of the annual meeting and to call Annual Meeting in prescribed period.
To organize special general body meeting as required.
To make arrangement of election for the formation of a new committee before expiring the term of the managing committee.
To select office bearers by forming the new committee after election.
After taking charge of the office by the members of the managing committee,it is obligatory on them to execute bond under Section 73(1) (1AB) in M-20 (bond paper of Rs.100/- and each separately on the cost of the society) and to include the same in the record of the society. Similarly, the responsibility to inform the concerned Registrar in the regard is entrusted with Secretary.
It is necessary to take detailed note of taking charge, handover of record with its detailed list of the record received in the minutes of the managing committee meeting. Thereby the record regarding exactly which files received in whose possession and on which date is available with the society permanently.
To fill up the vacant post in the managing committee as per provision in the bye-laws and Rule No. 60(5) of Maharashtra Co-operative Rule 1961.
To accept the resignation of the members of Managing Committee.
To keep neatly the files of members and society records.
To finalize the financial statement of the society within 45 days at the end of the financial year.
To submit society’s record for Audit.
To make available papers mentioned in Section 32 as per members demand.
To take decision as per provisions in by laws and laws on the complaints received from the members.
To give necessary information to the members if he contacted society for selling of the flat and co-operate him for selling as per provisions in by-laws and laws.
To take decision on the applicant regarding letting of the flat and inform the same to the concerned member within prescribed time limit.
To make agreements as necessary on behalf of the society.
To take necessary action for keeping the property of the society in order.
To take insurance policy of the building and property of the society.
To give approval for change in utilization of flat.
To inspect flat of the member internally by taking prior appointment for the purposes of leakage/structural audit etc.
To initiate action as per provision in law if the member makes hindrance in internal inspection.
To sanction the amendments in laws, rules, bye-laws suggested by the government from time to time with the approval of the general body meeting.
It is obligatory on the part of the government to give details of the bill/bifurcation and also as per which resolution/ bye- law if the members demand so.
It is obligatory on the part of the society to accept less amount paid by the member than the amount shown in the bill and it is necessary to give receipt of thereof.
There is a provision in the sub-rule about how much maximum interest to be charged. However, it is necessary to make resolution in the general body meeting about charging interest.
By doing structural audit of the building, necessary repairs should have been carried out with the approval of the general body meeting.
If the society does not have funds and if any member is ready to do leakage work on his own cost, then to form the rules in that regard and take approval of the general body meeting for the same.
To submit the fault rectifying report in ‘O’ form by rectifying the faults in the audit report, within three months to the Auditor and to send its copy to the Registrar.

*WHY A CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY IS BETTER THAN APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION?
1. The builder is interested in using the increased FSI which will be awarded by the govt. for that area at any time in future. If the ‘Society’ is formed, then upon the transfer and conveyance of land in favour of the Society, the increased FSI will be owned by the Society and the builder shall not have any right over it. But if it is an Apartment, then the builder owns that increased FSI and can use it anywhere. Thus, the builder will keep taking advantage of every increase in FSI throughout in the future.

2. In an Apartment, the builder retains the ownership of the open spaces which are not included in the saleable area. Example – Terrace or any open parking/stairs space which is not included in the saleable area. But in case of Society, the builder cannot retain any right on any of these areas and has to hand over everything to the Society. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act also provides for the ownership of an individual Apartment in a building and to make such Apartment heritable and transferable property.

3. Bye-laws and Rules of ‘Society’ are binding on all the residents and nobody can act as per his/her whims. Hence, if the Society decides to ban any objectionable commercial activities in the flats such as noise-making music classes or using the flat for catering or courier activities etc or not to rent out to bachelors etc, then all the residents have to abide by it. But if it is an Apartment, then owners can violate the Apartment Rules and the Apartment Body can just file a case in the Civil Court. However, while the Society disputes are resolved in a separate Court i.e. Co-operative Court dealing with Society matters and hence they are fast resolved whereas, the Apartment matters have to be taken to the normal Civil Court and hence they typically take years and decades to resolve.

4. When the building contemplates redevelopment after 25-30 years, the Society’s decision will be final and hence the Society members will have negotiation power with the builder at that time. But if in case of an Apartment, the consent of every Apartment-owner is required and hence it goes into an endless delay due to lack of a common decision acceptable to everybody. There are many instances in Mumbai wherein finally the dilapidated buildings had to be forcefully vacated by an eviction order from Court since they became unlivable. Thus, while the decisions are taken on a ‘majority’ basis in Society, the Apartment goes with rule of ‘Acceptable by Everybody’. So if the builder has retained even one flat in an Apartment, he will play a veto card in his favour at the time of redevelopment.

*FORMATION / REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE
According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium
(b) Private Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant Societies
(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for Co-operative Housing Society Registration begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model Bye-laws.
6. Bank Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).
11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company.
15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society, it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

*CHECKLIST FOR HANDOVER OF SOCIETY FROM BUILDER
During the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.
The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1)Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2)Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3)Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4)Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: Common Floor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5)Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.
6)Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

*BUILDER-NON COOPERATION CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY
If builder/promoter procrastinate in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the authorized officer (District Dy. Registrar in the respective district, who have given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963 (For making regulation for encouraging their constructions, their sale, management and transfer).
While submitting the said proposal, following documents are Necessary.
• 7/12 extract of the land or property card.
• Competent Authority Certificate regarding non-Agricultural land.
• Order regarding applicable/non-applicable Land ceiling Act Map of the construction approved by the competent authority.
• Letter of given permission for construction.
• Completion certificate of Construction.
• Development Agreement if the land is taken for development.
• Power of Authority letter of the Land.
• Copy of the Title search Report.
• Agreement copy of the flat purchased.
• Architect certificate regarding construction.
• List of the Members.
• Scheme of the Society.
• Application regarding reservation of Name.
• Minimum 10 Members shall necessary for the registration of the Society.
• Application for registration of Society (A Form)
• Table containing information of the society (B Form)
• Table containing information of the members (C Form)
• Statement of Accounts of the members (D Form)
• Notarized guarantee letter of the chief promoter of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 100/-
• Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200/-
• Affidavit of the Members (Minimum 10 promoters’ Affidavit)
• Two copies of bye laws approved by the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar, Maharashtra State, Pune.
• Bank balance statement of the promoter members who have deposited Rs.500/- each as a share and admission fee Rs.100/- in District
• Central Co-operative Bank after getting sanction for the reservation of name in district of Rs.2500/- paid as society Registration fee in the Government Treasure.

The proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, the competent authority by taking hearing, issued orders to the concerned officer for registering the society.

The scrutiny of the registration proposal submitted after fulfillment of documents as mentioned above and criterion will be done after taking into consideration the instructions in the circular/ directives regarding registration issued by the Government/ Commissioner, Co-operation. It is obligatory on the concerned Registrar to make registration by considering various provisions in the Act and Rules and instructions given in the circular/ directives.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF CO-OP. SOCIETIES
1.The first Step is to get 10 Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society.
2.A Provisional Committee should be formed and a chief Promoter should be elected from amongst them.
3.A Name for the Society has to be selected.
4.An Application has to be made to the Registration Authority for reservation of Name and a letter to that effect has to be obtained confirming the reservation of Name. The name once reserved is valid for 3 Months.
5.The entrance fees and share capital has to be collected from the prospective members.
6.A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the proposed society as per the directions of the registration Authority. The entrance fees and share money has to be deposited in the bank account and the certificate from the bank has to be obtained in that respect.
7.The registration fees has to be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India and receipted 1challan thereof is to be obtained.
8.The application for registration of the society should be submitted to the Registrar of Societies of the concerned municipal ward. The documents to be submitted for registration are as follows:

a. Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
b. List of promoter members
c. Bank Certificate
d. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
e. 4 copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
f. Proof of payment of registration charges.
g. Other documents like affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
9.The Registrar will enter the particulars in register of application maintained in Form “B” and give serial number and issue receipt in acknowledgment of the same.
10.On registration, the Registrar will notify the registration of the Society in the Official Gazette and issue Registration Certificate.

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REGISTER A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY

First general body meeting (before registration)
In this meeting under Society’s Model Bye-law 3(iii), the Chief Promoter (could be the builder) is primarily selected by the promoters, who are members co-signing the registration application before the Registering Authority, under Bye-law 3(xii).
Application for registration

Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied with the society resolutions and signatures of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the society is registered or its registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit registration proposal to the registering authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed society.
Co-operative Societies Commissioner & Registrar’s GR No. SAGRUVO/1094/Pra.Kra 277/14C dated 10 March 1995 says “By exercising the powers in section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1960 the government is pleased to exempt the provision of minimum 10 members for registering co-operative Housing society under sub-clause 1 in Section 6 of the said Act subject to the conditions that the plinth area of each flat in the proposed co-operative Housing Society should not be more than 700 sq. ft and FSI should not be balance for utilization in the proposed societies land/ building.
If builder/ promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the District Deputy Registrar, who has been given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963. While submitting the said proposal, a Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200 is required.

Approval by Registrar
It is the duty of the concerned Registrar to register the Co-operative Housing Society, by scrutinizing the proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, and shall make an arrangement of issuing certificate of registration society under Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, and copy of the registered bye-law, memorandum regarding registration of society to the chief promoter. The order regarding registration of society should have been sent for publishing in government gazette to the Government Printing Press for appropriate action. It is necessary to take decision on the registration of the society within a period of two months from the date of the proposal of the society submitted to the Registrar.
If proposal of society registration is denied or no decision is taken within two months then it is necessary to send that proposal to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Co. operative societies Act, can be approached.

First General Body Meeting obligatory Agenda (after registration):
• To elect a Chairman for the meeting
• To admit persons to membership who have applied for membership of the society.
• To elect a provisional Managing Committee
• To receive and approve the statement of account as prepared by the Chief Promoter of the society up to 14 days prior to the first general body meeting of the society.
• To authorize the committee to secure conveyance of right title and interest in the property in the name of the society from the promoter builder
• To impose restrictions on raising loan amount from outside
• To appoint internal auditor and to fix his remuneration
• To authorize one of the members of the provisional committee to call the first meeting of the provisional committee
• To take decision about taking membership of District Housing Federation and other institutions
• To give power to one member of provisional management committee to call meeting of the managing committee
• To consider the matters raised by the member except these matters which are necessary for giving advance notice with the permission of chairman and eleventh hour matter and to make resolution in that regard.

*BUILDER’S HANDOVER PROCESS:-
The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.
It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:
1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details
2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan
3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities
4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings
5. Registration and parent documents
6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings
7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)
8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)
9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP
10.AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)
11.Lift license details and next renewal date
12.STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings
13.Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid
14.Handover of corpus amount to the association
15.Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)
16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs
17.Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance
18.Audited account statement at the time of handover
19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

*SOCIETY REGISTRATION AND FORMATION
Forming a legal society is of utmost importance. It helps society owners to reap unlimited benefits and maintain smooth functioning. It is mandatory for developers to create societies and provide a final handover to the owners. However, many developers do not comply with these procedures and hence flat owners lose that added benefit that a legal society enjoys.
We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.
We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.
Our specialized services include:
Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments
Account formation and legal documentation

*SOCIETY FORMATION AND HANDOVER
60 % of the Promoters are must be ready to form Co-op. Housing Society.
If flats are sold as per the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act,1963 [MOFA] then it is the duty of the Builder / Developer to form society and hand over the Account + Documents to Provisional Working Committee [PWC] In this case the builder become CP and other flat owners become Promoters for Registration purpose. This society registers under Co-operation.
When the builder is not registering society due to some reasons or not support to registered society then flat purchasers can apply for registration of Co-operative Housing Society under Non Co-operation. In this case one of the flat owners should be elected as CP for Registration purpose. In this case some more time is taken to registered society as registrar is issue notice to builder for Non Co-operation. If no response then ex-party decision are taken for registration of the society. Now all the case of Non Co-operation Registration decisions is given by District Deputy Registrar [DDR] then society is registered

All flat owners should hold meeting and elect Promoter. All power for Registrations, documentation etc. should be given to promoter. The resolution should be passed and must be sign by all flat owners who wish to become member of the Co-operative Housing Society
Appoint Consultant / Legal Advocate for registration and ask him to comply all requirements. All members together also can do work for registration.
For registration of Co-op. Hsg. Society the following documents should be filed to Dy. Registrar / Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Department area concern in order as follow
Applications for Name to be reserved for Proposed Society’s
Form of resolution electing a CP and Promoter and giving them authority for doing certain acts on behalf of the proposed society
Application form “A” 4 copies
Information in Annexture ” A ” ” B ” ” C ” 4 copies
Bye-Law of the Society 2 copies
Details of Accounts Annexture ” D ” 2 copies
Bank Balance Certificate in Original 1 copy in Original
Agreement of Flat 1 copy
Advocate Search Report 2 copy [Title Certificate]
Society’s Building Plan 2 copies
Lay Out Plan 2 copies
Sanction Plan from Authority 2 copies
O.C / C.C copy 2 copies
Promoter’s Guarantee in form ” X ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form” Y ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form ” Z ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copies
7/12 or City Survey Revenue Record of Land [not more than 1 month old] 1 copy
Promoters Affidavit On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Indemnity Bond On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
NA Certificate / ULC 2 copy
Plot area Land Map 2 copies
Scheme
Registration Fee Challan for Rs.2500 1 copy original
Builder Non Co-operation form Z On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized if required 1 copy
CP Affidavit for Child Labour on Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1copy

All this forms are available at your District Co-operative Housing Society Federation.
On submission of above document the Dy./Asst. Registrar will go through the papers And document. If found OK he will make order for issue of Registration Certificate.
If any deficiencies are found then the applicant will be inform accordingly and documents will be corrected wherever necessary. When all papers are in order, he will issue order for issue of Registration Certificate.
Registration Certificate is issued with covering letter and Officer’s name is mentioned who will attend First General Meeting. Normally the Officer concern is not attending meeting. In absence , all member has to hold meeting and has to elect Provisional Working Committee [PWC] whose working period will be ONE Year. After electing PWC the member of PWC has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of Officer’s whose name is in Covering latter to Dy./Asst. Registrar. All Rule and Regulations ,resolution and minutes which is written in AGM Register must be sign by Officer’s name is mentioned in covering letter it is the most important step.[Many society forget this which create problem latter] After First Annual General Meeting PWC is replaced with new Working Committee [WC] whose working period will be FIVE Year.The new WC election can conduct before PWC time over with proper election process. WC also has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of election officer to Dy./Asst. Registrar
When application for Name reservation of Society has given, the Dy./Asst. Registrar give instruction to Open Bank Account in Dist. Central Co-op. Bank The Account has to opened in the name of CP And deposit all money of Share Capital Contribution [per member Share Money is Rs. 50*10 = Rs. 500 i.e. 10 share of 50 rupees each] and Member ship Fees of Rs. 100/- i.e. Per member you have to deposit Rs. 600/- in bank and obtain Bank Balance Certificate and submitted it to Dy./Asst. Registrar. After First Annual General Body Meeting the Bank Account has to transfer in the name of Society. For bank Account operation Chairman sign must and either Secretary and Treasurer. Expenditure has to be made as per provision of Bye-Laws. Bank and Cash Transaction [Collection and Payment are handled by Treasure when Billing Clerk or Accountant are not been kept.

*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY:-
Putting a board displaying name of the society, full address with registered survey No. and Registration No. near the main gate of the society which could be seen easily.
To raise funds for the society.
Recommend to the society for deciding maintenance fee, repair and deposit amount.
To give membership, pass the resignation of members similarly to take decision regarding nomination of the members.
Internal inspection of the flat.
To take decision on the various applications received from the members.
To take action against the defaulting members.
To issue Share Certificate to the members.
To call monthly meeting of the committee and finalize its minutes.
To determine agenda of the annual meeting and to call Annual Meeting in prescribed period.
To organize special general body meeting as required.
To make arrangement of election for the formation of a new committee before expiring the term of the managing committee.
To select office bearers by forming the new committee after election.
After taking charge of the office by the members of the managing committee,it is obligatory on them to execute bond under Section 73(1) (1AB) in M-20 (bond paper of Rs.100/- and each separately on the cost of the society) and to include the same in the record of the society. Similarly, the responsibility to inform the concerned Registrar in the regard is entrusted with Secretary.
It is necessary to take detailed note of taking charge, handover of record with its detailed list of the record received in the minutes of the managing committee meeting. Thereby the record regarding exactly which files received in whose possession and on which date is available with the society permanently.
To fill up the vacant post in the managing committee as per provision in the bye-laws and Rule No. 60(5) of Maharashtra Co-operative Rule 1961.
To accept the resignation of the members of Managing Committee.
To keep neatly the files of members and society records.
To finalize the financial statement of the society within 45 days at the end of the financial year.
To submit society’s record for Audit.
To make available papers mentioned in Section 32 as per members demand.
To take decision as per provisions in by laws and laws on the complaints received from the members.
To give necessary information to the members if he contacted society for selling of the flat and co-operate him for selling as per provisions in by-laws and laws.
To take decision on the applicant regarding letting of the flat and inform the same to the concerned member within prescribed time limit.
To make agreements as necessary on behalf of the society.
To take necessary action for keeping the property of the society in order.
To take insurance policy of the building and property of the society.
To give approval for change in utilization of flat.
To inspect flat of the member internally by taking prior appointment for the purposes of leakage/structural audit etc.
To initiate action as per provision in law if the member makes hindrance in internal inspection.
To sanction the amendments in laws, rules, bye-laws suggested by the government from time to time with the approval of the general body meeting.
It is obligatory on the part of the government to give details of the bill/bifurcation and also as per which resolution/ bye- law if the members demand so.
It is obligatory on the part of the society to accept less amount paid by the member than the amount shown in the bill and it is necessary to give receipt of thereof.
There is a provision in the sub-rule about how much maximum interest to be charged. However, it is necessary to make resolution in the general body meeting about charging interest.
By doing structural audit of the building, necessary repairs should have been carried out with the approval of the general body meeting.
If the society does not have funds and if any member is ready to do leakage work on his own cost, then to form the rules in that regard and take approval of the general body meeting for the same.
To submit the fault rectifying report in ‘O’ form by rectifying the faults in the audit report, within three months to the Auditor and to send its copy to the Registrar.

*WHY A CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY IS BETTER THAN APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION?
1. The builder is interested in using the increased FSI which will be awarded by the govt. for that area at any time in future. If the ‘Society’ is formed, then upon the transfer and conveyance of land in favour of the Society, the increased FSI will be owned by the Society and the builder shall not have any right over it. But if it is an Apartment, then the builder owns that increased FSI and can use it anywhere. Thus, the builder will keep taking advantage of every increase in FSI throughout in the future.

2. In an Apartment, the builder retains the ownership of the open spaces which are not included in the saleable area. Example – Terrace or any open parking/stairs space which is not included in the saleable area. But in case of Society, the builder cannot retain any right on any of these areas and has to hand over everything to the Society. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act also provides for the ownership of an individual Apartment in a building and to make such Apartment heritable and transferable property.

3. Bye-laws and Rules of ‘Society’ are binding on all the residents and nobody can act as per his/her whims. Hence, if the Society decides to ban any objectionable commercial activities in the flats such as noise-making music classes or using the flat for catering or courier activities etc or not to rent out to bachelors etc, then all the residents have to abide by it. But if it is an Apartment, then owners can violate the Apartment Rules and the Apartment Body can just file a case in the Civil Court. However, while the Society disputes are resolved in a separate Court i.e. Co-operative Court dealing with Society matters and hence they are fast resolved whereas, the Apartment matters have to be taken to the normal Civil Court and hence they typically take years and decades to resolve.

4. When the building contemplates redevelopment after 25-30 years, the Society’s decision will be final and hence the Society members will have negotiation power with the builder at that time. But if in case of an Apartment, the consent of every Apartment-owner is required and hence it goes into an endless delay due to lack of a common decision acceptable to everybody. There are many instances in Mumbai wherein finally the dilapidated buildings had to be forcefully vacated by an eviction order from Court since they became unlivable. Thus, while the decisions are taken on a ‘majority’ basis in Society, the Apartment goes with rule of ‘Acceptable by Everybody’. So if the builder has retained even one flat in an Apartment, he will play a veto card in his favour at the time of redevelopment.

*FORMATION / REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE
According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium
(b) Private Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant Societies
(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for Co-operative Housing Society Registration begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model Bye-laws.
6. Bank Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).
11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company.
15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society, it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

*CHECKLIST FOR HANDOVER OF SOCIETY FROM BUILDER
During the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.
The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1)Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2)Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3)Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4)Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: Common Floor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5)Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.
6)Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

*BUILDER-NON COOPERATION CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY
If builder/promoter procrastinate in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the authorized officer (District Dy. Registrar in the respective district, who have given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963 (For making regulation for encouraging their constructions, their sale, management and transfer).
While submitting the said proposal, following documents are Necessary.
• 7/12 extract of the land or property card.
• Competent Authority Certificate regarding non-Agricultural land.
• Order regarding applicable/non-applicable Land ceiling Act Map of the construction approved by the competent authority.
• Letter of given permission for construction.
• Completion certificate of Construction.
• Development Agreement if the land is taken for development.
• Power of Authority letter of the Land.
• Copy of the Title search Report.
• Agreement copy of the flat purchased.
• Architect certificate regarding construction.
• List of the Members.
• Scheme of the Society.
• Application regarding reservation of Name.
• Minimum 10 Members shall necessary for the registration of the Society.
• Application for registration of Society (A Form)
• Table containing information of the society (B Form)
• Table containing information of the members (C Form)
• Statement of Accounts of the members (D Form)
• Notarized guarantee letter of the chief promoter of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 100/-
• Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200/-
• Affidavit of the Members (Minimum 10 promoters’ Affidavit)
• Two copies of bye laws approved by the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar, Maharashtra State, Pune.
• Bank balance statement of the promoter members who have deposited Rs.500/- each as a share and admission fee Rs.100/- in District
• Central Co-operative Bank after getting sanction for the reservation of name in district of Rs.2500/- paid as society Registration fee in the Government Treasure.

The proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, the competent authority by taking hearing, issued orders to the concerned officer for registering the society.

The scrutiny of the registration proposal submitted after fulfillment of documents as mentioned above and criterion will be done after taking into consideration the instructions in the circular/ directives regarding registration issued by the Government/ Commissioner, Co-operation. It is obligatory on the concerned Registrar to make registration by considering various provisions in the Act and Rules and instructions given in the circular/ directives.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF CO-OP. SOCIETIES
1.The first Step is to get 10 Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society.
2.A Provisional Committee should be formed and a chief Promoter should be elected from amongst them.
3.A Name for the Society has to be selected.
4.An Application has to be made to the Registration Authority for reservation of Name and a letter to that effect has to be obtained confirming the reservation of Name. The name once reserved is valid for 3 Months.
5.The entrance fees and share capital has to be collected from the prospective members.
6.A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the proposed society as per the directions of the registration Authority. The entrance fees and share money has to be deposited in the bank account and the certificate from the bank has to be obtained in that respect.
7.The registration fees has to be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India and receipted 1challan thereof is to be obtained.
8.The application for registration of the society should be submitted to the Registrar of Societies of the concerned municipal ward. The documents to be submitted for registration are as follows:

a. Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
b. List of promoter members
c. Bank Certificate
d. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
e. 4 copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
f. Proof of payment of registration charges.
g. Other documents like affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
9.The Registrar will enter the particulars in register of application maintained in Form “B” and give serial number and issue receipt in acknowledgment of the same.
10.On registration, the Registrar will notify the registration of the Society in the Official Gazette and issue Registration Certificate.

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List of Documents Required for Society Formation

REGISTER A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY

First general body meeting (before registration)
In this meeting under Society’s Model Bye-law 3(iii), the Chief Promoter (could be the builder) is primarily selected by the promoters, who are members co-signing the registration application before the Registering Authority, under Bye-law 3(xii).
Application for registration

Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied with the society resolutions and signatures of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the society is registered or its registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit registration proposal to the registering authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed society.
Co-operative Societies Commissioner & Registrar’s GR No. SAGRUVO/1094/Pra.Kra 277/14C dated 10 March 1995 says “By exercising the powers in section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1960 the government is pleased to exempt the provision of minimum 10 members for registering co-operative Housing society under sub-clause 1 in Section 6 of the said Act subject to the conditions that the plinth area of each flat in the proposed co-operative Housing Society should not be more than 700 sq. ft and FSI should not be balance for utilization in the proposed societies land/ building.
If builder/ promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the District Deputy Registrar, who has been given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963. While submitting the said proposal, a Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200 is required.

Approval by Registrar
It is the duty of the concerned Registrar to register the Co-operative Housing Society, by scrutinizing the proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, and shall make an arrangement of issuing certificate of registration society under Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, and copy of the registered bye-law, memorandum regarding registration of society to the chief promoter. The order regarding registration of society should have been sent for publishing in government gazette to the Government Printing Press for appropriate action. It is necessary to take decision on the registration of the society within a period of two months from the date of the proposal of the society submitted to the Registrar.
If proposal of society registration is denied or no decision is taken within two months then it is necessary to send that proposal to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Co. operative societies Act, can be approached.

First General Body Meeting obligatory Agenda (after registration):
• To elect a Chairman for the meeting
• To admit persons to membership who have applied for membership of the society.
• To elect a provisional Managing Committee
• To receive and approve the statement of account as prepared by the Chief Promoter of the society up to 14 days prior to the first general body meeting of the society.
• To authorize the committee to secure conveyance of right title and interest in the property in the name of the society from the promoter builder
• To impose restrictions on raising loan amount from outside
• To appoint internal auditor and to fix his remuneration
• To authorize one of the members of the provisional committee to call the first meeting of the provisional committee
• To take decision about taking membership of District Housing Federation and other institutions
• To give power to one member of provisional management committee to call meeting of the managing committee
• To consider the matters raised by the member except these matters which are necessary for giving advance notice with the permission of chairman and eleventh hour matter and to make resolution in that regard.

*BUILDER’S HANDOVER PROCESS:-
The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.
It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:
1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details
2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan
3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities
4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings
5. Registration and parent documents
6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings
7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)
8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)
9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP
10.AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)
11.Lift license details and next renewal date
12.STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings
13.Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid
14.Handover of corpus amount to the association
15.Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)
16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs
17.Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance
18.Audited account statement at the time of handover
19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

*SOCIETY REGISTRATION AND FORMATION
Forming a legal society is of utmost importance. It helps society owners to reap unlimited benefits and maintain smooth functioning. It is mandatory for developers to create societies and provide a final handover to the owners. However, many developers do not comply with these procedures and hence flat owners lose that added benefit that a legal society enjoys.
We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.
We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.
Our specialized services include:
Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments
Account formation and legal documentation

*SOCIETY FORMATION AND HANDOVER
60 % of the Promoters are must be ready to form Co-op. Housing Society.
If flats are sold as per the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act,1963 [MOFA] then it is the duty of the Builder / Developer to form society and hand over the Account + Documents to Provisional Working Committee [PWC] In this case the builder become CP and other flat owners become Promoters for Registration purpose. This society registers under Co-operation.
When the builder is not registering society due to some reasons or not support to registered society then flat purchasers can apply for registration of Co-operative Housing Society under Non Co-operation. In this case one of the flat owners should be elected as CP for Registration purpose. In this case some more time is taken to registered society as registrar is issue notice to builder for Non Co-operation. If no response then ex-party decision are taken for registration of the society. Now all the case of Non Co-operation Registration decisions is given by District Deputy Registrar [DDR] then society is registered

All flat owners should hold meeting and elect Promoter. All power for Registrations, documentation etc. should be given to promoter. The resolution should be passed and must be sign by all flat owners who wish to become member of the Co-operative Housing Society
Appoint Consultant / Legal Advocate for registration and ask him to comply all requirements. All members together also can do work for registration.
For registration of Co-op. Hsg. Society the following documents should be filed to Dy. Registrar / Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Department area concern in order as follow
Applications for Name to be reserved for Proposed Society’s
Form of resolution electing a CP and Promoter and giving them authority for doing certain acts on behalf of the proposed society
Application form “A” 4 copies
Information in Annexture ” A ” ” B ” ” C ” 4 copies
Bye-Law of the Society 2 copies
Details of Accounts Annexture ” D ” 2 copies
Bank Balance Certificate in Original 1 copy in Original
Agreement of Flat 1 copy
Advocate Search Report 2 copy [Title Certificate]
Society’s Building Plan 2 copies
Lay Out Plan 2 copies
Sanction Plan from Authority 2 copies
O.C / C.C copy 2 copies
Promoter’s Guarantee in form ” X ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form” Y ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form ” Z ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copies
7/12 or City Survey Revenue Record of Land [not more than 1 month old] 1 copy
Promoters Affidavit On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Indemnity Bond On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
NA Certificate / ULC 2 copy
Plot area Land Map 2 copies
Scheme
Registration Fee Challan for Rs.2500 1 copy original
Builder Non Co-operation form Z On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized if required 1 copy
CP Affidavit for Child Labour on Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1copy

All this forms are available at your District Co-operative Housing Society Federation.
On submission of above document the Dy./Asst. Registrar will go through the papers And document. If found OK he will make order for issue of Registration Certificate.
If any deficiencies are found then the applicant will be inform accordingly and documents will be corrected wherever necessary. When all papers are in order, he will issue order for issue of Registration Certificate.
Registration Certificate is issued with covering letter and Officer’s name is mentioned who will attend First General Meeting. Normally the Officer concern is not attending meeting. In absence , all member has to hold meeting and has to elect Provisional Working Committee [PWC] whose working period will be ONE Year. After electing PWC the member of PWC has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of Officer’s whose name is in Covering latter to Dy./Asst. Registrar. All Rule and Regulations ,resolution and minutes which is written in AGM Register must be sign by Officer’s name is mentioned in covering letter it is the most important step.[Many society forget this which create problem latter] After First Annual General Meeting PWC is replaced with new Working Committee [WC] whose working period will be FIVE Year.The new WC election can conduct before PWC time over with proper election process. WC also has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of election officer to Dy./Asst. Registrar
When application for Name reservation of Society has given, the Dy./Asst. Registrar give instruction to Open Bank Account in Dist. Central Co-op. Bank The Account has to opened in the name of CP And deposit all money of Share Capital Contribution [per member Share Money is Rs. 50*10 = Rs. 500 i.e. 10 share of 50 rupees each] and Member ship Fees of Rs. 100/- i.e. Per member you have to deposit Rs. 600/- in bank and obtain Bank Balance Certificate and submitted it to Dy./Asst. Registrar. After First Annual General Body Meeting the Bank Account has to transfer in the name of Society. For bank Account operation Chairman sign must and either Secretary and Treasurer. Expenditure has to be made as per provision of Bye-Laws. Bank and Cash Transaction [Collection and Payment are handled by Treasure when Billing Clerk or Accountant are not been kept.

*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY:-
Putting a board displaying name of the society, full address with registered survey No. and Registration No. near the main gate of the society which could be seen easily.
To raise funds for the society.
Recommend to the society for deciding maintenance fee, repair and deposit amount.
To give membership, pass the resignation of members similarly to take decision regarding nomination of the members.
Internal inspection of the flat.
To take decision on the various applications received from the members.
To take action against the defaulting members.
To issue Share Certificate to the members.
To call monthly meeting of the committee and finalize its minutes.
To determine agenda of the annual meeting and to call Annual Meeting in prescribed period.
To organize special general body meeting as required.
To make arrangement of election for the formation of a new committee before expiring the term of the managing committee.
To select office bearers by forming the new committee after election.
After taking charge of the office by the members of the managing committee,it is obligatory on them to execute bond under Section 73(1) (1AB) in M-20 (bond paper of Rs.100/- and each separately on the cost of the society) and to include the same in the record of the society. Similarly, the responsibility to inform the concerned Registrar in the regard is entrusted with Secretary.
It is necessary to take detailed note of taking charge, handover of record with its detailed list of the record received in the minutes of the managing committee meeting. Thereby the record regarding exactly which files received in whose possession and on which date is available with the society permanently.
To fill up the vacant post in the managing committee as per provision in the bye-laws and Rule No. 60(5) of Maharashtra Co-operative Rule 1961.
To accept the resignation of the members of Managing Committee.
To keep neatly the files of members and society records.
To finalize the financial statement of the society within 45 days at the end of the financial year.
To submit society’s record for Audit.
To make available papers mentioned in Section 32 as per members demand.
To take decision as per provisions in by laws and laws on the complaints received from the members.
To give necessary information to the members if he contacted society for selling of the flat and co-operate him for selling as per provisions in by-laws and laws.
To take decision on the applicant regarding letting of the flat and inform the same to the concerned member within prescribed time limit.
To make agreements as necessary on behalf of the society.
To take necessary action for keeping the property of the society in order.
To take insurance policy of the building and property of the society.
To give approval for change in utilization of flat.
To inspect flat of the member internally by taking prior appointment for the purposes of leakage/structural audit etc.
To initiate action as per provision in law if the member makes hindrance in internal inspection.
To sanction the amendments in laws, rules, bye-laws suggested by the government from time to time with the approval of the general body meeting.
It is obligatory on the part of the government to give details of the bill/bifurcation and also as per which resolution/ bye- law if the members demand so.
It is obligatory on the part of the society to accept less amount paid by the member than the amount shown in the bill and it is necessary to give receipt of thereof.
There is a provision in the sub-rule about how much maximum interest to be charged. However, it is necessary to make resolution in the general body meeting about charging interest.
By doing structural audit of the building, necessary repairs should have been carried out with the approval of the general body meeting.
If the society does not have funds and if any member is ready to do leakage work on his own cost, then to form the rules in that regard and take approval of the general body meeting for the same.
To submit the fault rectifying report in ‘O’ form by rectifying the faults in the audit report, within three months to the Auditor and to send its copy to the Registrar.

*WHY A CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY IS BETTER THAN APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION?
1. The builder is interested in using the increased FSI which will be awarded by the govt. for that area at any time in future. If the ‘Society’ is formed, then upon the transfer and conveyance of land in favour of the Society, the increased FSI will be owned by the Society and the builder shall not have any right over it. But if it is an Apartment, then the builder owns that increased FSI and can use it anywhere. Thus, the builder will keep taking advantage of every increase in FSI throughout in the future.

2. In an Apartment, the builder retains the ownership of the open spaces which are not included in the saleable area. Example – Terrace or any open parking/stairs space which is not included in the saleable area. But in case of Society, the builder cannot retain any right on any of these areas and has to hand over everything to the Society. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act also provides for the ownership of an individual Apartment in a building and to make such Apartment heritable and transferable property.

3. Bye-laws and Rules of ‘Society’ are binding on all the residents and nobody can act as per his/her whims. Hence, if the Society decides to ban any objectionable commercial activities in the flats such as noise-making music classes or using the flat for catering or courier activities etc or not to rent out to bachelors etc, then all the residents have to abide by it. But if it is an Apartment, then owners can violate the Apartment Rules and the Apartment Body can just file a case in the Civil Court. However, while the Society disputes are resolved in a separate Court i.e. Co-operative Court dealing with Society matters and hence they are fast resolved whereas, the Apartment matters have to be taken to the normal Civil Court and hence they typically take years and decades to resolve.

4. When the building contemplates redevelopment after 25-30 years, the Society’s decision will be final and hence the Society members will have negotiation power with the builder at that time. But if in case of an Apartment, the consent of every Apartment-owner is required and hence it goes into an endless delay due to lack of a common decision acceptable to everybody. There are many instances in Mumbai wherein finally the dilapidated buildings had to be forcefully vacated by an eviction order from Court since they became unlivable. Thus, while the decisions are taken on a ‘majority’ basis in Society, the Apartment goes with rule of ‘Acceptable by Everybody’. So if the builder has retained even one flat in an Apartment, he will play a veto card in his favour at the time of redevelopment.

*FORMATION / REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE
According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium
(b) Private Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant Societies
(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for Co-operative Housing Society Registration begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model Bye-laws.
6. Bank Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).
11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company.
15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society, it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

*CHECKLIST FOR HANDOVER OF SOCIETY FROM BUILDER
During the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.
The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1)Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2)Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3)Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4)Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: Common Floor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5)Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.
6)Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

*BUILDER-NON COOPERATION CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY
If builder/promoter procrastinate in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the authorized officer (District Dy. Registrar in the respective district, who have given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963 (For making regulation for encouraging their constructions, their sale, management and transfer).
While submitting the said proposal, following documents are Necessary.
• 7/12 extract of the land or property card.
• Competent Authority Certificate regarding non-Agricultural land.
• Order regarding applicable/non-applicable Land ceiling Act Map of the construction approved by the competent authority.
• Letter of given permission for construction.
• Completion certificate of Construction.
• Development Agreement if the land is taken for development.
• Power of Authority letter of the Land.
• Copy of the Title search Report.
• Agreement copy of the flat purchased.
• Architect certificate regarding construction.
• List of the Members.
• Scheme of the Society.
• Application regarding reservation of Name.
• Minimum 10 Members shall necessary for the registration of the Society.
• Application for registration of Society (A Form)
• Table containing information of the society (B Form)
• Table containing information of the members (C Form)
• Statement of Accounts of the members (D Form)
• Notarized guarantee letter of the chief promoter of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 100/-
• Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200/-
• Affidavit of the Members (Minimum 10 promoters’ Affidavit)
• Two copies of bye laws approved by the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar, Maharashtra State, Pune.
• Bank balance statement of the promoter members who have deposited Rs.500/- each as a share and admission fee Rs.100/- in District
• Central Co-operative Bank after getting sanction for the reservation of name in district of Rs.2500/- paid as society Registration fee in the Government Treasure.

The proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, the competent authority by taking hearing, issued orders to the concerned officer for registering the society.

The scrutiny of the registration proposal submitted after fulfillment of documents as mentioned above and criterion will be done after taking into consideration the instructions in the circular/ directives regarding registration issued by the Government/ Commissioner, Co-operation. It is obligatory on the concerned Registrar to make registration by considering various provisions in the Act and Rules and instructions given in the circular/ directives.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF CO-OP. SOCIETIES
1.The first Step is to get 10 Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society.
2.A Provisional Committee should be formed and a chief Promoter should be elected from amongst them.
3.A Name for the Society has to be selected.
4.An Application has to be made to the Registration Authority for reservation of Name and a letter to that effect has to be obtained confirming the reservation of Name. The name once reserved is valid for 3 Months.
5.The entrance fees and share capital has to be collected from the prospective members.
6.A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the proposed society as per the directions of the registration Authority. The entrance fees and share money has to be deposited in the bank account and the certificate from the bank has to be obtained in that respect.
7.The registration fees has to be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India and receipted 1challan thereof is to be obtained.
8.The application for registration of the society should be submitted to the Registrar of Societies of the concerned municipal ward. The documents to be submitted for registration are as follows:

a. Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
b. List of promoter members
c. Bank Certificate
d. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
e. 4 copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
f. Proof of payment of registration charges.
g. Other documents like affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
9.The Registrar will enter the particulars in register of application maintained in Form “B” and give serial number and issue receipt in acknowledgment of the same.
10.On registration, the Registrar will notify the registration of the Society in the Official Gazette and issue Registration Certificate.

By |November 1st, 2017|List of Documents Required for Society Formation|Comments Off on List of Documents Required for Society Formation

Housing Society Formation Pune

REGISTER A NEW HOUSING SOCIETY

First general body meeting (before registration)
In this meeting under Society’s Model Bye-law 3(iii), the Chief Promoter (could be the builder) is primarily selected by the promoters, who are members co-signing the registration application before the Registering Authority, under Bye-law 3(xii).
Application for registration

Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied with the society resolutions and signatures of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the society is registered or its registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit registration proposal to the registering authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed society.
Co-operative Societies Commissioner & Registrar’s GR No. SAGRUVO/1094/Pra.Kra 277/14C dated 10 March 1995 says “By exercising the powers in section 7 of the Co-operative Societies Act 1960 the government is pleased to exempt the provision of minimum 10 members for registering co-operative Housing society under sub-clause 1 in Section 6 of the said Act subject to the conditions that the plinth area of each flat in the proposed co-operative Housing Society should not be more than 700 sq. ft and FSI should not be balance for utilization in the proposed societies land/ building.
If builder/ promoter is not co-operating in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the District Deputy Registrar, who has been given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963. While submitting the said proposal, a Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200 is required.

Approval by Registrar
It is the duty of the concerned Registrar to register the Co-operative Housing Society, by scrutinizing the proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, and shall make an arrangement of issuing certificate of registration society under Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act 1960, and copy of the registered bye-law, memorandum regarding registration of society to the chief promoter. The order regarding registration of society should have been sent for publishing in government gazette to the Government Printing Press for appropriate action. It is necessary to take decision on the registration of the society within a period of two months from the date of the proposal of the society submitted to the Registrar.
If proposal of society registration is denied or no decision is taken within two months then it is necessary to send that proposal to the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Co. operative societies Act, can be approached.

First General Body Meeting obligatory Agenda (after registration):
• To elect a Chairman for the meeting
• To admit persons to membership who have applied for membership of the society.
• To elect a provisional Managing Committee
• To receive and approve the statement of account as prepared by the Chief Promoter of the society up to 14 days prior to the first general body meeting of the society.
• To authorize the committee to secure conveyance of right title and interest in the property in the name of the society from the promoter builder
• To impose restrictions on raising loan amount from outside
• To appoint internal auditor and to fix his remuneration
• To authorize one of the members of the provisional committee to call the first meeting of the provisional committee
• To take decision about taking membership of District Housing Federation and other institutions
• To give power to one member of provisional management committee to call meeting of the managing committee
• To consider the matters raised by the member except these matters which are necessary for giving advance notice with the permission of chairman and eleventh hour matter and to make resolution in that regard.

*BUILDER’S HANDOVER PROCESS:-
The date of handover from builder to the registered owners association is an important day for new apartment owners and all residents. It has to be taken seriously and detailed due diligence must be done when interacting with the builders during this handover process. Once the formal handover to the Owners Association is completed, the onus is on the association to run the affairs of the society and to ensure its smooth functioning. The association must be prepared for this day for 3+ months leading to this event.
It is recommended that owners collaboratively engage with the builder right from late construction stages that will help them to take-up this responsibility in future. The builders can also reach out to representatives from the owners group to assist in the selection of maintenance agency which prepares them for the handover process.

Based on our experience in interacting with various builders and associations, we have collated a check list that associations can use when in dialogue with the builder on the handover process:
1. Get approved building plan which includes block-wise and floor-wise details
2. Collect the Completion Certificate which ensures adherence of the approved plan
3. No Objection certificates from pollution, fire, water and electricity authorities
4. Hard copy and soft copy (in CD) of all approved engineering drawings; look for approval seal on the drawings
5. Registration and parent documents
6. Drainage, sewage, Fire protection and common area power layout drawings
7. Car parking layout drawings (with numbering)
8. Asset Inventory of all movable and immovable equipment purchased; numbered in order (list needs to be exhaustive)
9. Record of recent service history on key equipment’s like lifts, DG sets, STP and WTP
10.AMC and warranty details; Original bills of equipment purchased (motors, Sewage and Water Treatment Plant, Generators, Gym items like treadmill)
11.Lift license details and next renewal date
12.STP/WTP vendor details, plant layout, operation manual and drawings
13.Receipts of property, electricity and water payments paid
14.Handover of corpus amount to the association
15.Share recent expenses incurred on various maintenance activities and account heads; will assist to budget coming year (staff salaries, purchase of cleaning material, swimming pool maintenance etc)
16.Contract signed with maintenance agency; agreed SLAs
17.Insurance taken for assets and third party lift insurance
18.Audited account statement at the time of handover
19. Arrange for introductory meeting with important suppliers and vendors

*SOCIETY REGISTRATION AND FORMATION
Forming a legal society is of utmost importance. It helps society owners to reap unlimited benefits and maintain smooth functioning. It is mandatory for developers to create societies and provide a final handover to the owners. However, many developers do not comply with these procedures and hence flat owners lose that added benefit that a legal society enjoys.
We, the “VED LEGAL” provide registration and formation services which help you at every step of society formation, right from inception to final handover. We look after all the legal complications involved in society formation and carry out necessary negotiations with developers.
We have also completed the registration process for various projects. We specialize in society formation of housing societies, commercial societies, maintenance societies and large townships. We help developers and societies with complex registration process during society mergers, society split, and federation registrations.
Our specialized services include:
Initial screening
Gap identification and ratification
Process documentation and finalization
Dispute resolution
Society name reservation at respective co-operative departments
Account formation and legal documentation

*SOCIETY FORMATION AND HANDOVER
60 % of the Promoters are must be ready to form Co-op. Housing Society.
If flats are sold as per the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act,1963 [MOFA] then it is the duty of the Builder / Developer to form society and hand over the Account + Documents to Provisional Working Committee [PWC] In this case the builder become CP and other flat owners become Promoters for Registration purpose. This society registers under Co-operation.
When the builder is not registering society due to some reasons or not support to registered society then flat purchasers can apply for registration of Co-operative Housing Society under Non Co-operation. In this case one of the flat owners should be elected as CP for Registration purpose. In this case some more time is taken to registered society as registrar is issue notice to builder for Non Co-operation. If no response then ex-party decision are taken for registration of the society. Now all the case of Non Co-operation Registration decisions is given by District Deputy Registrar [DDR] then society is registered

All flat owners should hold meeting and elect Promoter. All power for Registrations, documentation etc. should be given to promoter. The resolution should be passed and must be sign by all flat owners who wish to become member of the Co-operative Housing Society
Appoint Consultant / Legal Advocate for registration and ask him to comply all requirements. All members together also can do work for registration.
For registration of Co-op. Hsg. Society the following documents should be filed to Dy. Registrar / Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Department area concern in order as follow
Applications for Name to be reserved for Proposed Society’s
Form of resolution electing a CP and Promoter and giving them authority for doing certain acts on behalf of the proposed society
Application form “A” 4 copies
Information in Annexture ” A ” ” B ” ” C ” 4 copies
Bye-Law of the Society 2 copies
Details of Accounts Annexture ” D ” 2 copies
Bank Balance Certificate in Original 1 copy in Original
Agreement of Flat 1 copy
Advocate Search Report 2 copy [Title Certificate]
Society’s Building Plan 2 copies
Lay Out Plan 2 copies
Sanction Plan from Authority 2 copies
O.C / C.C copy 2 copies
Promoter’s Guarantee in form ” X ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form” Y ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Guarantee in form ” Z ” On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copies
7/12 or City Survey Revenue Record of Land [not more than 1 month old] 1 copy
Promoters Affidavit On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
Indemnity Bond On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1 copy
NA Certificate / ULC 2 copy
Plot area Land Map 2 copies
Scheme
Registration Fee Challan for Rs.2500 1 copy original
Builder Non Co-operation form Z On Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized if required 1 copy
CP Affidavit for Child Labour on Rs. 100/- Stamp paper & notarized 1copy

All this forms are available at your District Co-operative Housing Society Federation.
On submission of above document the Dy./Asst. Registrar will go through the papers And document. If found OK he will make order for issue of Registration Certificate.
If any deficiencies are found then the applicant will be inform accordingly and documents will be corrected wherever necessary. When all papers are in order, he will issue order for issue of Registration Certificate.
Registration Certificate is issued with covering letter and Officer’s name is mentioned who will attend First General Meeting. Normally the Officer concern is not attending meeting. In absence , all member has to hold meeting and has to elect Provisional Working Committee [PWC] whose working period will be ONE Year. After electing PWC the member of PWC has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of Officer’s whose name is in Covering latter to Dy./Asst. Registrar. All Rule and Regulations ,resolution and minutes which is written in AGM Register must be sign by Officer’s name is mentioned in covering letter it is the most important step.[Many society forget this which create problem latter] After First Annual General Meeting PWC is replaced with new Working Committee [WC] whose working period will be FIVE Year.The new WC election can conduct before PWC time over with proper election process. WC also has to submitted the M-20 bond on Rs. 100/- stamp paper with the sign of election officer to Dy./Asst. Registrar
When application for Name reservation of Society has given, the Dy./Asst. Registrar give instruction to Open Bank Account in Dist. Central Co-op. Bank The Account has to opened in the name of CP And deposit all money of Share Capital Contribution [per member Share Money is Rs. 50*10 = Rs. 500 i.e. 10 share of 50 rupees each] and Member ship Fees of Rs. 100/- i.e. Per member you have to deposit Rs. 600/- in bank and obtain Bank Balance Certificate and submitted it to Dy./Asst. Registrar. After First Annual General Body Meeting the Bank Account has to transfer in the name of Society. For bank Account operation Chairman sign must and either Secretary and Treasurer. Expenditure has to be made as per provision of Bye-Laws. Bank and Cash Transaction [Collection and Payment are handled by Treasure when Billing Clerk or Accountant are not been kept.

*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY:-
Putting a board displaying name of the society, full address with registered survey No. and Registration No. near the main gate of the society which could be seen easily.
To raise funds for the society.
Recommend to the society for deciding maintenance fee, repair and deposit amount.
To give membership, pass the resignation of members similarly to take decision regarding nomination of the members.
Internal inspection of the flat.
To take decision on the various applications received from the members.
To take action against the defaulting members.
To issue Share Certificate to the members.
To call monthly meeting of the committee and finalize its minutes.
To determine agenda of the annual meeting and to call Annual Meeting in prescribed period.
To organize special general body meeting as required.
To make arrangement of election for the formation of a new committee before expiring the term of the managing committee.
To select office bearers by forming the new committee after election.
After taking charge of the office by the members of the managing committee,it is obligatory on them to execute bond under Section 73(1) (1AB) in M-20 (bond paper of Rs.100/- and each separately on the cost of the society) and to include the same in the record of the society. Similarly, the responsibility to inform the concerned Registrar in the regard is entrusted with Secretary.
It is necessary to take detailed note of taking charge, handover of record with its detailed list of the record received in the minutes of the managing committee meeting. Thereby the record regarding exactly which files received in whose possession and on which date is available with the society permanently.
To fill up the vacant post in the managing committee as per provision in the bye-laws and Rule No. 60(5) of Maharashtra Co-operative Rule 1961.
To accept the resignation of the members of Managing Committee.
To keep neatly the files of members and society records.
To finalize the financial statement of the society within 45 days at the end of the financial year.
To submit society’s record for Audit.
To make available papers mentioned in Section 32 as per members demand.
To take decision as per provisions in by laws and laws on the complaints received from the members.
To give necessary information to the members if he contacted society for selling of the flat and co-operate him for selling as per provisions in by-laws and laws.
To take decision on the applicant regarding letting of the flat and inform the same to the concerned member within prescribed time limit.
To make agreements as necessary on behalf of the society.
To take necessary action for keeping the property of the society in order.
To take insurance policy of the building and property of the society.
To give approval for change in utilization of flat.
To inspect flat of the member internally by taking prior appointment for the purposes of leakage/structural audit etc.
To initiate action as per provision in law if the member makes hindrance in internal inspection.
To sanction the amendments in laws, rules, bye-laws suggested by the government from time to time with the approval of the general body meeting.
It is obligatory on the part of the government to give details of the bill/bifurcation and also as per which resolution/ bye- law if the members demand so.
It is obligatory on the part of the society to accept less amount paid by the member than the amount shown in the bill and it is necessary to give receipt of thereof.
There is a provision in the sub-rule about how much maximum interest to be charged. However, it is necessary to make resolution in the general body meeting about charging interest.
By doing structural audit of the building, necessary repairs should have been carried out with the approval of the general body meeting.
If the society does not have funds and if any member is ready to do leakage work on his own cost, then to form the rules in that regard and take approval of the general body meeting for the same.
To submit the fault rectifying report in ‘O’ form by rectifying the faults in the audit report, within three months to the Auditor and to send its copy to the Registrar.

*WHY A CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY IS BETTER THAN APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION?
1. The builder is interested in using the increased FSI which will be awarded by the govt. for that area at any time in future. If the ‘Society’ is formed, then upon the transfer and conveyance of land in favour of the Society, the increased FSI will be owned by the Society and the builder shall not have any right over it. But if it is an Apartment, then the builder owns that increased FSI and can use it anywhere. Thus, the builder will keep taking advantage of every increase in FSI throughout in the future.

2. In an Apartment, the builder retains the ownership of the open spaces which are not included in the saleable area. Example – Terrace or any open parking/stairs space which is not included in the saleable area. But in case of Society, the builder cannot retain any right on any of these areas and has to hand over everything to the Society. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act also provides for the ownership of an individual Apartment in a building and to make such Apartment heritable and transferable property.

3. Bye-laws and Rules of ‘Society’ are binding on all the residents and nobody can act as per his/her whims. Hence, if the Society decides to ban any objectionable commercial activities in the flats such as noise-making music classes or using the flat for catering or courier activities etc or not to rent out to bachelors etc, then all the residents have to abide by it. But if it is an Apartment, then owners can violate the Apartment Rules and the Apartment Body can just file a case in the Civil Court. However, while the Society disputes are resolved in a separate Court i.e. Co-operative Court dealing with Society matters and hence they are fast resolved whereas, the Apartment matters have to be taken to the normal Civil Court and hence they typically take years and decades to resolve.

4. When the building contemplates redevelopment after 25-30 years, the Society’s decision will be final and hence the Society members will have negotiation power with the builder at that time. But if in case of an Apartment, the consent of every Apartment-owner is required and hence it goes into an endless delay due to lack of a common decision acceptable to everybody. There are many instances in Mumbai wherein finally the dilapidated buildings had to be forcefully vacated by an eviction order from Court since they became unlivable. Thus, while the decisions are taken on a ‘majority’ basis in Society, the Apartment goes with rule of ‘Acceptable by Everybody’. So if the builder has retained even one flat in an Apartment, he will play a veto card in his favour at the time of redevelopment.

*FORMATION / REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES IN PUNE
According to the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the building i.e.

(a) Condominium
(b) Private Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant Societies
(d) Housing Board Societies.

The procedure for Co-operative Housing Society Registration begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10 Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach a number of 10.

It would be of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing Co-operative Society Registration are as under:

1. Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2. Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model Bye-laws.
6. Bank Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. / Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion Certificate (if applicable).
11. Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society (Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13. Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company.
15. In the case of such proposed societies, names of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’ to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to register the society and on registration of the society, it becomes a separate legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire the majority of flats in the building.

*CHECKLIST FOR HANDOVER OF SOCIETY FROM BUILDER
During the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.
The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1)Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2)Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3)Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4)Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: Common Floor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5)Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.
6)Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

*BUILDER-NON COOPERATION CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY
If builder/promoter procrastinate in registering the Co-operative Housing Society, then in that case, the application for registration of society be submitted in Form 6 (Rule 12) before the authorized officer (District Dy. Registrar in the respective district, who have given power under section 10(1) of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act 1963 (For making regulation for encouraging their constructions, their sale, management and transfer).
While submitting the said proposal, following documents are Necessary.
• 7/12 extract of the land or property card.
• Competent Authority Certificate regarding non-Agricultural land.
• Order regarding applicable/non-applicable Land ceiling Act Map of the construction approved by the competent authority.
• Letter of given permission for construction.
• Completion certificate of Construction.
• Development Agreement if the land is taken for development.
• Power of Authority letter of the Land.
• Copy of the Title search Report.
• Agreement copy of the flat purchased.
• Architect certificate regarding construction.
• List of the Members.
• Scheme of the Society.
• Application regarding reservation of Name.
• Minimum 10 Members shall necessary for the registration of the Society.
• Application for registration of Society (A Form)
• Table containing information of the society (B Form)
• Table containing information of the members (C Form)
• Statement of Accounts of the members (D Form)
• Notarized guarantee letter of the chief promoter of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 100/-
• Notarized Indemnity Bond of the members who applied for the registration of society on the stamp paper of Rs. 200/-
• Affidavit of the Members (Minimum 10 promoters’ Affidavit)
• Two copies of bye laws approved by the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar, Maharashtra State, Pune.
• Bank balance statement of the promoter members who have deposited Rs.500/- each as a share and admission fee Rs.100/- in District
• Central Co-operative Bank after getting sanction for the reservation of name in district of Rs.2500/- paid as society Registration fee in the Government Treasure.

The proposal submitted after fulfillment of above mentioned documents, the competent authority by taking hearing, issued orders to the concerned officer for registering the society.

The scrutiny of the registration proposal submitted after fulfillment of documents as mentioned above and criterion will be done after taking into consideration the instructions in the circular/ directives regarding registration issued by the Government/ Commissioner, Co-operation. It is obligatory on the concerned Registrar to make registration by considering various provisions in the Act and Rules and instructions given in the circular/ directives.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF CO-OP. SOCIETIES
1.The first Step is to get 10 Individuals together who are desirous of forming a Society.
2.A Provisional Committee should be formed and a chief Promoter should be elected from amongst them.
3.A Name for the Society has to be selected.
4.An Application has to be made to the Registration Authority for reservation of Name and a letter to that effect has to be obtained confirming the reservation of Name. The name once reserved is valid for 3 Months.
5.The entrance fees and share capital has to be collected from the prospective members.
6.A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the proposed society as per the directions of the registration Authority. The entrance fees and share money has to be deposited in the bank account and the certificate from the bank has to be obtained in that respect.
7.The registration fees has to be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India and receipted 1challan thereof is to be obtained.
8.The application for registration of the society should be submitted to the Registrar of Societies of the concerned municipal ward. The documents to be submitted for registration are as follows:

a. Form No. A in quadruplicate signed by 90% of the promoter members
b. List of promoter members
c. Bank Certificate
d. Detailed explanation of working of the society.
e. 4 copies of proposed bye-laws of the society.
f. Proof of payment of registration charges.
g. Other documents like affidavits, indemnity bonds, any documents specified by the Registrar also have to be submitted.
9.The Registrar will enter the particulars in register of application maintained in Form “B” and give serial number and issue receipt in acknowledgment of the same.
10.On registration, the Registrar will notify the registration of the Society in the Official Gazette and issue Registration Certificate.

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