Associations of apartments cannot register under Societies Act: HC
Court stays memo issued by principal revenue secretary
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has stayed the state government’s memo that allows apartments or flat owners associations to register themselves under Telangana Societies Act, instead of registering under the Telangana cooperative Societies Act or the Telangana Mutual Aided Co-operative Societies Act, 1995.
The memo was issued by the principal secretary of revenue (registration) on August 21 after considering a representation by CREDAI members.
Challenging the same, Madamanchi Ramesh Babu of Emerald Rainbow vistas at Moosapet filed a petition before the High Court. He contended that the memo will allow apartment welfare associations and societies to continue functioning without any government supervision thereby leaving scope for misuse of funds.
Senior counsel Sripada Prabhakar appeared for the petitioner and said that an executive memo issued by an officer cannot replace Acts enacted by legislation. Sripada brought to the notice of the court that the Andhra Pradesh Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987 had received the assent of the President on the May 15, 1987.
The said Act was adopted by the State of Telangana. He pointed out that Rule 7 of the Act mandates registration of apartments either under Telangana Cooperative Societies Act, 1964 or Telangana Mutual Aided Co-operative Societies Act, 1995.
Under their provisions, the government has the power to cause an inquiry into allegations of mismanagement of funds.
Sripada submitted that developers of the apartments either don’t hand over the corpus fund collected by the managing committee to the apartment welfare associations or do so belatedly without paying any interest for the delay.
They also do not get their books of accounts audited. Individual owners of the apartments are kept in the dark by the so-called managing committee of the associations/Societies, the senior counsel submitted.
Considering the arguments, Justice Chillakuru Sumalatha stayed the operation of the memo issued by the state government.