Reminder: Housing Society Cannot Decide Title Disputes Between a Deceased Member's Heirs

No fresh circular or court ruling relevant to housing societies was found in the last 48 hours, so this is a reminder of a Bombay High Court ruling that guides how managing committees handle membership after a member dies and the family disagrees. LiveLaw reported on 18 April 2026 that Justice Amit Borkar dismissed a challenge by The Malad Cooperative Housing Society Limited (Writ Petition 1927 of 2015) and upheld an order directing it to admit a deceased member's son as a member.

What the case was about

According to the report, a father bought three flats in the society and gave one to each of his three sons. One son, Radheshyam Dhanuka, lived with his parents in the disputed flat; the parents died in 1989. A brother's wife later filed a civil suit claiming exclusive rights to that flat, but her heirs withdrew it unconditionally after her death. When Radheshyam applied for membership, the society refused, saying his application lacked documents and that it first had to decide ownership because other legal heirs existed. On 13 November 2014 the Divisional Joint Registrar directed the society to grant membership, and the High Court has now upheld that direction.

What the court said

The court relied on Section 30 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. In plain terms, this section says that when a member dies, the share and interest go first to the nominee; if there is no nominee, they go to the person who appears to the committee to be the heir or legal representative. The court held that this requires only prima facie satisfaction, meaning a reasonable view on the papers, not a final ruling on who owns the flat. As reported, the court said a housing society is not a forum for adjudicating title disputes, and that any remaining question of beneficial ownership must go to a civil court.

What this means for housing societies

• Check the nomination register first. If a valid nominee exists, the share passes to the nominee under Section 30.
• Where there is no nominee, the committee should decide, on the documents, who appears to be the heir or legal representative. It should not hold hearings to decide competing ownership claims.
• Membership recognition is for the society's records and administration. It does not settle title, succession or partition between family members, who remain free to approach a civil court.
• Refusing or delaying a membership application because heirs disagree can lead to an order from the Registrar directing admission, as happened in this case.

The report does not give any deadline linked to this ruling. Committees with pending transmission applications should record their reasons in writing and, where there is a genuine dispute, tell the parties that title questions are for the civil court.