Reminder: Bombay HC Held Registrar's 51% Threshold Binds New Housing Society Registrations

No fresh Maharashtra housing society ruling was available today, so this is a reminder on an earlier judgment that still matters to anyone forming a new society. As reported by the Free Press Journal, Justice Sandeep Marne of the Bombay High Court held that the Registrar's circulars of 29 November 2010 (60%) and 23 March 2016 (51%) are enforceable. The court said no society can be registered in violation of the percentage they prescribe.

What the case was about

The petitioner, Prakash Saave, was the promoter of Harmony Plaza Premises Cooperative Society in Boisar. The divisional joint registrar de-registered the society on 8 November 2023, and the Minister (Co-operation) upheld this on 21 August 2024, according to the Free Press Journal. Only 83 of 174 sanctioned tenements, about 47.7%, had applied for registration.

The promoter argued that Section 6 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act needs only 10 persons to apply, so a circular cannot raise the requirement. The court rejected this. It held that the circulars were issued under Section 6(1) and are enforceable, and that the de-registration was not illegal.

What this means for housing societies

• Promoters and buyers should count the applicants against the total flats or tenements before filing. In this case, 89 of the 174 units (51%) were needed.
• A society that falls short of the threshold can reapply once enough purchasers join. The reports say Harmony Plaza can do so after 89 purchasers apply.
• Housing Society Times adds its own commentary that developers may challenge a society formed below the threshold, and that such societies could face legal scrutiny. This is not part of the court's holding.

Please note the limits of the sources. The Free Press Journal update is dated 8 March 2025 and gives the ruling date only as 'March 4'. Neither report gives a case number, and the judgment text was not reviewed. Whether the MCS Rules 2026 change this threshold has not been verified here, so committees should check the current Registrar requirements before applying.