Vinayak
We have a co-operative Housing Society at Malad (West) Mumbai having 84 members. The Managing Committee was elected in the month of July 2010 for period of 3 years as per prevailing Bye Laws.The charge was taken on 1.8.2010 from the previous Committee.
Thereafter in the month of April 2013, as per the 97 th Constitutional amendment and as directed by the Dy.Registrar, co-operative Societies, P-Ward,the Managing Committee place the Model Bye Laws before the Special General Body and after the approval, the same have been sent to the Dy.Registrar,P ward for sanctioned.The Dy.Registrar has approved the bye laws of our society as it is in the month of May 2013.
In the Model Bye Laws, the period of Managing Committee is mentioned as 5 Years.
According to the Old Bye Laws, the Election of the Society is to be held before the 1st August, 2013.However, the Managing Committee is saying that they will continue for further period of two years.
In my and other members opinion the present committee period will be continue till 1.8.2013.So they have to declare the Election of the Society without further delay. My question is whether the present committee is to be continued for further 2 years as per the Model Bye Laws approved by the Dy.Registrar. in the month of May 2013 or otherwise.
Please give guidance, in this situation what to be done by the members of the Society.
I C Naik
The managing committees of cooperative housing societies
Tenure of 3 year got revised to 5 years automatically on 14 2 2013
1. Sub- Article (2) of Article 243ZJ of “Part XI of Cooperative Societies” as inserted by the 97th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2011 [“97-C A A” for short ] reads as under.
“ The term of office of elected members of the board and its office bearers shall be five years from the date of election and the term of office bearers shall be coterminous with the term of the board:”
2. 97-C A A became operative on 13 2 2012. For the State to align their respective cooperative society law, to the amendments period of 12 months was reserved after which any inconsistent provision in the State law were to get superseded and provision as per Constitution as amended was to become applicable in its place [Article 243ZT].
3. The tenure of the managing committee in a cooperative society is fixed under its Bye Laws in terms of section 73(1) reading as under:
“The management of every society shall vest in a committee, constituted in accordance with this Act, the rules and by-laws, which shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be conferred or imposed respectively by this Act, the rules and the by-laws.”
4. Under Model 1984 Bye Laws of cooperative housing societies the tenure of the managing committee is 3 years as per Bye Law Nos 120 and 121(a) :
Bye Law No 120 “The period of office of the Committee elected under the bye-law No. 115 (a) shall be for 3 years from the date of its first meeting”
Bye Law No 121(a) “The first meeting of the newly elected and outgoing Committee shall be held within 30 days from the date of the general body meeting of the society, at which the result of its election was declared.”
5. Under the Bye Laws Model 2001 and Model 2009 the tenure has been revised to 5 years, Bye Law numbers being 122 and 123(a).
6. On expiry of 12 months provided in Article 343ZT as aforesaid, the tenure of all boards/committees of all cooperative societies became uniform across all States, viz: 5 years from the date of election. The M. C. S. Act 1960 was amended under Maharashtra Ordinance 2 of 2013. Since fixing of tenure of the managing committee continued to be governed by Bye Laws, the M. C. S. Act 1960 being silent on tenure, the tenure of all cooperative societies stood revised to 5 years for societies having less than 3 years. Provisions of Bye Law numbers 120/121(a) got superseded and the law is as stated in paragraph 1 hereof that is five years from the date of election is applicable.
7. Applying the above rationale to the managing committee of the cooperative housing society in Mumbai as reported by Vinayak from Malad (West) which was elected in the month of July 2010 gets extended till expiry of 5 years in July 2015.
8. The New Bye Laws as adopted under directions of the Registrar have prospective effect for the managing committee elected after coming in to force of these new Bye Laws i.e. prior to July 2015.
