Bombay HC Upholds Dissolution Of Khar Housing Society Panel After Losing Quorum

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has held that a housing society’s managing committee ceases to exist in law once it loses quorum, and the Registrar is justified in dissolving such a body to ensure smooth administration.

Fresh Elections Ordered

Justice Amit Bokar dismissed a petition filed by members of the Purshottam Bhagwan Co-operative Housing Society Ltd., Jeevan Jyot, in Khar West and directed that fresh elections be conducted within two weeks to restore “democratic functioning”.

Orders Under Co-operative Act Upheld

The court upheld the orders passed by the district deputy registrar, divisional joint registrar, and the minister for co-operation under Section 77A of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (MCS Act). The authorities had successively confirmed the dissolution of the society’s managing committee and appointment of an administrator after the committee fell below quorum.

Committee Lost Quorum After Resignations

The society’s eight-member committee, elected in January 2022 for a five-year term, lost four members following resignations tendered between April and June 2023. The registrar, noting that the strength had fallen below the required quorum of five, dissolved the committee in November 2024 and appointed an administrator. The petitioners’ appeal and revision were dismissed in March and July 2025, respectively, leading to the present writ petition.

Petitioners Argue Against Dissolution

Senior advocate Girish Godbole, appearing for the petitioners, contended that the registrar acted without issuing a mandatory notice inviting objections and that no urgency was shown to justify dispensing with this requirement. He argued that the remaining members had co-opted two replacements.

They relied on a government resolution (GR) issued on January 3, 2024 which reduced the number of committee members to five and quorum to three for small societies. They urged that the GR should be applied retroactively to validate their actions.

Respondents Cite Legal Limits

Opposing the plea, Anil Sakhare, counsel for the respondents society members (some of whom had resigned from MC), argued that the 2024 GR was prospective and did not apply to committees formed earlier. He submitted that once four members resigned, the committee was reduced to four, below the quorum of five, and could not legally function or co-opt new members.

Court Upholds Registrar’s Action

The court accepted this reasoning, observing that quorum “is not a technicality but a legal minimum ensuring collective decision-making.” It ruled that the 2024 GR brought a substantive change and could not operate retrospectively. “Accepting the petitioners’ plea would amount to rewriting history and validating what was invalid under the law then in force,” the court said.

Court Upholds Registrar’s Action

While finding no fault in the registrar’s decision to appoint an administrator without notice in view of the management vacuum, Justice Borkar said preference should ordinarily be given to appointing members from within the society rather than outsiders.

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The court dismissed the petition but directed the authorised officer currently managing the society to initiate the election process within two weeks and complete it “at the earliest” to ensure early restoration of elected governance.

“In my opinion, therefore, the proper course in the present facts is not to unsettle the appointment already made, but to ensure that elections are held without any further delay,” it said in a detailed 47-page order.

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