I am residing in Pune in a housing society. Our society registration was done in Dec 2011. Is it mandatory or binding to our society to be compliant with housing society bye laws got amended as per 97th constitutional amendment and came out in 2013?
Do one need to approach cooperative registrar to push society to be complaint with housing society bye laws got approved in early 2013. I read somewhere that there was a notification/circular issued by Govt addressing every society with a deadline to adopt 2013 bye laws without fail.
I C Naik
2013 Model was a half baked exercise by the Commissioner for Cooperation and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, not that Model 2014 is a well backed dish.
If you were to surf www.indiancooperative.com you should come across more than half a dozen posts on 2014 Model. One example:
https://www.indiancooperative.com/cooperative-coffee-shop/adopt-and-amend-2014-model-but-why/
You are right that in 2013 with an unprecedented haste an ill-advised departmental circular was sent out from Pune to Joint Registrar of cooperative societies all over the state directing them to ensure that all housing societies in the State hold general body meeting and adopt new Model Bye-Laws (2013) and register them by May 31 2013. This unprecedented haste was met with a cold response such that the 12 months deadline ending 13 2 2013 given under 97th Constitutional Amendment to the States was well passed and the Maharashtra cooperative societies (Amendment) Act 2013 was enacted in August 2013. Hardly any housing society adopted 2013 Model.
Your housing society must have registered its Bye-Laws as per Model 2001 and they are very much in force. The Commissioner for Cooperation and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies has been given powers under Proviso to Bye-Law No 14 (2) as under:
Provided further that, the Registrar may specify the Model bylaws, for such type of societies or class of societies, as he may deem fit.”
The Bye-Laws Model 2014 has been released on 1-11-2013 by the Commissioner for Cooperation and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to Mumbai District Housing Federation for printing and supplying to member societies at Costs. The power a per proviso above has not been exercised by the Registrar.
Preparing the Bye-Laws and making any amendment thereto are the privileges of promoters / members of the society, subject to the condition that none of the Bye-Laws should be contrary to provisions of the MCS Act 1960, Rules made there under (the MCR 1961 and the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Election to Committee) Rules, 2014) and of course the Articles inserted in the Constitution of India vide 97th Constitutional Amendment.
It is the contention of the Commissioner for Cooperation and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies that 2014 Model has been written such that it has been ensured that compliance to these Bye-Laws by a housing society would not result in violation of any conditions as aforesaid. This is the reason for a strong advisory from the Registrar to housing societies to adopt the 2014 Model.
If your housing society decides to stick to its registered bye-laws it is permissible. Your Society’s Secretary will have to learn by heart, changes in all those components of the Housing Society Law as a result of enactment of 97th Constitutional Amendment and read the registered bye-laws in tandem with those changes.