EKNATH NAMDEV LASHKARE Vs. PANCHARATNA PROPERTIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Since the issues of fact and law involved in all these writ petitions are identical, they are being decided together by this common judgment.

(2.) The petitioners have approached this Court to challenge the judgment and order dtd. 30/11/2019 passed by the Cooperative Appellate Court. By the said order, the revision application filed by respondent Nos.1 to 6 was allowed. The Appellate Court set aside the order of the Cooperative Court which had rejected the respondents' application seeking dismissal of the dispute for want of jurisdiction. The Appellate Court held that the Cooperative Court had no jurisdiction to entertain certain prayers in the dispute.

(3.) The relevant facts giving rise to these petitions are as follows. Respondent No.6 is a Cooperative Housing Society registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. It was initially classified as a tenant ownership society and was later converted into a tenant co-partnership society with effect from 19/3/1990. In 1997, an Administrator was appointed for the society. Without conducting elections, the Administrator issued a notice dtd. 30/9/2005 calling a General Body Meeting on 16/10/2005. One of the subjects on the agenda was the proposal to hand over the society's property to a developer for redevelopment. Thereafter, on 17/4/2006, the Administrator executed a development agreement in favour of respondent No.1 - developer for a consideration of Rs.11,74,00,000..00.00 The petitioners filed Dispute No.36 of 2013 seeking a declaration that the resolution passed in the general body meeting dtd. 16/10/2005 was illegal and void. They also sought a declaration that the development agreement and the power of attorney executed in favour of respondent No.1 were null and void.