In a significant move, the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) Rabindra Agarwal has issued a notice initiating the process of winding up Beed (Maharashtra) based Parivartan Urban Multi-State Cooperative Credit Society.
The Society, registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002, has come under scrutiny following a series of complaints and law enforcement reports regarding its functioning.
According to official documents, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Beed, vide communication dated 25th November 2022, informed that as many as 13 criminal cases had been registered against the Society in various districts of Maharashtra. These are currently under investigation by the EOW units of the respective district police departments. The EOW had also urged the CRCS to appoint a liquidator or administrator for the Society.
In addition, seven depositors submitted complaints via email dated 24th December 2024, seeking the appointment of a liquidator and demanding a forensic audit of the Society’s operations.
Following these complaints, the CRCS office wrote to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Government of Maharashtra, on 13th February 2023 (with a reminder on 2nd January 2025), requesting an inspection under Section 108 of the MSCS Act, 2002. Simultaneously, the EOW Beed was asked to furnish a detailed report on the Society’s affairs.
Meanwhile, a notice was also issued to the Society on 19th December 2022 for non-submission of mandatory annual returns under Section 120 of the MSCS Act. No response was received from the Society.
Subsequently, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Government of Maharashtra, through its letter dated 15th January 2025, submitted an inspection report noting that the Society’s head office was found closed, and no records were available due to the shutdown. The inspection could not be completed for want of documents.
Further, a letter dated 1st April 2025 sent to the Society seeking its comments on the inspection findings was returned to the CRCS office marked “left address”, indicating the Society is not operating from its registered location, an apparent violation of the MSCS Act, 2002, the rules thereunder, and cooperative principles.
Considering these serious lapses, the CRCS has now decided to initiate the winding-up process of Parivartan Urban Multi-State Cooperative Credit Society, under the relevant provisions of the Act.
Stakeholders have been invited to submit any objections within 15 days of the notice being uploaded on the CRCS website (crcs.gov.in). If no objections are received within the stipulated period, it will be presumed that the Society has no defense, and further action will be taken accordingly.