When can the Registrar remove an elected committee? Bombay High Court in Jijau CHS v. State of Maharashtra, decoded

Two members complain, and the Assistant Registrar's letter arrives: hand over records, and collect maintenance strictly as per Bye-law No. 67. You reply, an Authorised Officer is appointed, and months later a show cause notice asks why an Administrator should not be appointed. Then an order removes the entire managing committee. The Bombay High Court has now examined exactly such a sequence.

The case in brief

The petitioner, Jijau Coop. Housing Soci. Ltd. of Kamothe, Navi Mumbai, is registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. Its General Body resolved on 26 June 2022 to repair and paint the deteriorated building, with each member contributing Rs.10,000 per month for five or ten months. At a Special General Body on 14 August 2022 the society's Structural Auditor made a presentation, and members resolved on equal interim contributions to be recalculated after the work.

Two members complained. On 6 June 2024 the Assistant Registrar (CIDCO) directed the society to give them records and to collect maintenance strictly as per Bye-law No. 67. On 8 July 2024 an advocate was appointed Authorised Officer, and he reported on 15 October 2024 that the society was "not functioning as per the Bye laws and the provisions of the Act". A show cause notice followed on 28 November 2024. The society replied on 4 February 2025, and on 13 February 2025 the Assistant Registrar removed the entire committee and appointed an Administrator. The Joint Registrar dismissed the society's appeal under Section 152, Appeal No.39 of 2025, on 26 August 2025.

The society filed Writ Petition No. 12871 of 2025; Amit Borkar, J. pronounced judgment on 11 November 2025 (2025:BHC-AS:47841).

What the court decided

On these facts — no allegation of misappropriation or financial irregularity on the record, an official complaint that the society was not running as per the bye laws, and consultation with the federal society that appeared a mere formality — the court held the supersession did not meet the test of Section 78A, and set aside both the order of 13 February 2025 and the appellate order of 26 August 2025.

> "The drastic action of removing an elected committee cannot rest on incomplete reasons or violation which is minor in nature." (para 87)

The court also said consultation with the federal society must be active, not mechanical (para 84), and that the appellate authority merely affirmed the order without checking the mandatory requirements of Section 78A (para 86). It also gave directions binding the Registrar in future cases: where he concludes supersession is justified, the order shall clearly state that the Administrator shall start the election process within three months from the date he takes charge, that the total period of administration shall not exceed twelve months, and that this period shall not be extended for any reason (para 74). The court called these conditions mandatory (para 75) and said a Registrar who omits them shall be answerable to the High Court, non-compliance being capable of amounting to willful disobedience under the Contempt of Courts Act (para 76).

Why it matters for your society

The judgment treats supersession as a last option. A vague observation that a society is not running as per the bye laws does not identify any specific misconduct under Section 78A (para 83). A disagreement over a General Body decision is not, without more, a ground for removal. The Registrar's order must give reasons, and the federal society must actually be given material to consider.

For a committee, the file you build in answer to a complaint matters as much as the complaint. Here the court recorded that about ninety five per cent of members paid, that the repair work was completed from that contribution, and that the society had placed the audit report and vouchers on record (para 79).

What your committee should do

1. 1Keep the General Body resolution and the Structural Auditor's opinion on record for any special levy or repair fund. Bye-law 13(b) contemplates Major Repairs Funds decided by the General Body, and bye-law 110 makes the General Body the supreme authority.
2. 2Answer the Registrar's letter in writing within the time given, with documents, and keep proof of receipt.
3. 3Reply on the merits, ground by ground, not with a general denial, to any show cause notice proposing supersession; Section 78A gives you the opportunity of stating objections in writing provided under Section 78(1), and a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
4. 4Where a member complains about records, give inspection under bye-law 23(a) and record that it was given, so it cannot become a finding that records were not furnished.
5. 5Ask in writing whether the federal society was consulted and what material (notice, your reply, inquiry reports) was placed before it.
6. 6If a supersession order is passed, check whether it states the three conditions in para 74 (i) to (iii) and gives reasons tied to specific acts or directions.
7. 7Appeal under Section 152 promptly and raise each of these defects in the memorandum of appeal.

Limits of this ruling

This is a single-judge decision on its own facts. It does not hold supersession barred; the court itself set out the grounds on which supersession is available under Section 78A, including serious financial irregularities or frauds, which the court said must rest on documents such as audit reports, bank statements and vouchers, not on complaints or suspicion (para 29).

Whether a society must first use the alternative remedy under Section 154 was raised but not decided. Section 80 was mentioned only in the respondents' submission and was not applied. The judgment gives no direction on the Administrator's acts between 13 February 2025 and 11 November 2025, and does not say whether the committee is restored or elections held in this society. The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Rules, 2026 say nothing about supersession, and Section 78A of the Act is untouched by them.

This note is general information, not legal advice for your society's particular facts.