Bombay HC Quashes Deemed Conveyance To Individual Society, Upholds Federation’s Land Rights

The Bombay High Court has held that once deemed conveyance is granted for the entire parcel of land in favour of a federation of societies, a separate conveyance cannot subsequently be granted to an individual society for a portion of that land.

Justice Sandeep Marne passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Vijay Nagari Co-operative Housing Societies and six of its seven member societies. The petition challenged the September 2024 decision of the Competent Authority and District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Thane, which had unilaterally granted a deemed conveyance to the seventh society — Building No. 1 to 4 of Vijay Nagari CHS Ltd — for a portion of the same land.

The federation had already secured deemed conveyance of the entire 28,700 sq.mtr plot, including a recreational ground, via an order passed on July 4, 2022. The federation’s advocate Shailendra Pendse argued that after the entire parcel had been conveyed to it, the authority lacked jurisdiction under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) to entertain a separate application by one of its constituent societies.

The court agreed. “Once jurisdiction is exercised by the Competent Authority under Section 11 of MOFA by directing conveyance of the entire larger portion of the land in favour of the Federation, no statutory obligation remained in respect of the Promoter which could be further enforced,” Justice Marne observed.

He further ruled, “The land owner is now the Federation, who is not a Promoter within the meaning of MOFA. Therefore, the Federation is not under statutory obligation to convey the land in favour of First Respondent-Society.”

Bldg. No.1 and 4, that was granted the separate deemed conveyance had argued that it no longer wished to be part of the federation and sought control over its own portion of land to facilitate redevelopment. “The conveyance dated 4 July 2022 has been obtained in the name of the Federation by making false representation,” its counsel, Advocate Akhilesh Dubey, submitted. He also sought liberty to challenge the original 2022 conveyance order.

While the court acknowledged the society’s desire for independence, it clarified that the proper course would be to legally challenge the existing conveyance in favour of the federation, not to initiate a parallel process under Section 11 of MOFA.

The court set aside the September 23, 2024 order granting the separate conveyance, as well as all consequential actions, including the registered deed dated October 25, 2024 and related property card entries.

Bldg. No.1 and 4 -Society has been granted liberty to challenge the July 2022 deemed conveyance to the federation. “Such a challenge shall be decided independently on its own merits without being influenced by any of the observations made in the present order,” the court clarified.