: 1 : wp.5057.2009.sxw vss IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.5057 OF 2009 Sunil Rajaram Gawade & anr. ... Petitioners V/s. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents Mr.S.G. Aney with Aniruddha Joshi i/b N.N. Bhadrashete for the Petitioners Mr.P.S. Cardozo, AGP, Respondent Nos.1, 3 & 4 Mr.Rajmani Verma i/b Mr.A.S. Desai and R.S. Ghadge for Resp. Nos.5 to 8 Mr.A.Y. Sakhare, Sr.Adv. With Mr.M.M. Malvankar for Resp. No.9 Ms.Shruti Desai for Intervener CORAM: S.C.DHARMADHIKARI, J. DATE: JULY 7, 2011. P.C.: 1. On this writ petition an order was passed on 9.6.2011 in pursuance of an agreement of parties recorded in the order. Directions were issued to the Corporation to hear all affected parties and take a decision about accommodation of the non-residential occupants and finalise the list of voters based upon which further directions will be issued. 2. Mr.Sakhare, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai hands over a copy of the order dated 5.7.2011 which is passed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Estates). 3. Mr.Aney, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners, on instructions makes a statement that the petitioners accept this order and will : 2 : wp.5057.2009.sxw abide by the same. Respondent Nos.5 to 8 have been impleaded in this petition as respondents on the basis that they are tenants/occupants but were objecting to the formation of petitioner No.2 society. 4. Both Mr.Aney and the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Respondent Nos.5 to 8 state that this Court passed an order on 9.6.20011 on the understanding and agreement between the parties that the existence of the petitioner No.2 as a cooperative housing society of the tenants/occupants of the structures on the property belonging to the respondent No.9 Corporation is admitted and all objections to the registration thereof stand withdrawn. It is with a view to find an amicable solution to the dispute and to allow redevelopment of the property that the Court passed the order of 9.6.2011. Since the grievance was as to who will manage the affairs of the society and its administration must be governed strictly in accordance with law that this Court was of the opinion that before directions could be issued to hold elections of the managing committee, the Municipal Corporation should finalise the list of the occupants who would be eligible to vote and take part in the affairs of petitioner No.2 society. Exhibit 2 to the order passed by the Additional Commissioner contains the list of 64 residential tenants and it is agreed between the parties that these 64 persons shall be admitted as members of the petitioner No.2 society. Thus, respondent Nos.5 to 8 to this writ petition shall also be treated as members of Petitioner No.2 society. The names of Respondent Nos.5 to 8 are also included in the list referred to above. In the light of the above understanding and parties accepting the orders passed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner it is : 3 : wp.5057.2009.sxw directed that the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies of the subject Ward, shall convene a meeting of the general body of the petitioner NO.2 society with a view to hold elections of the managing committee. Before the meeting to elect the managing committee, the Assistant Registrar shall take all preliminary steps including preparation of voters’ list and commencing the election programme so that all those interested in filing their nominations will have adequate time and opportunity to do so. The voters list should be based on the list in Exhibit 2 to the order dated 5th July 2011 of the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Estates). If any persons in the list have expired, their heirs and legal representatives be included in the voters list, subject to verification by the BMC and Assistant Registrar. 5. Needless to say that the Assistant Registrar will abide by the mandate of Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act and the Rules framed thereunder to complete this process. He shall endeavour to complete the same as expeditiously as possible and within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. 6. In the light of order passed on 9.6.2011 and the order of the Additional Municipal Commissioner dated 5.7.2011, the writ petition is disposed of. It is directed that the authorities shall proceed on the basis that the petitioner No.2 society is a registered cooperative housing society and classify it as such under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. All certificates and documents in relation thereto shall be prepared and made available to the : 4 : wp.5057.2009.sxw society. In the light of the above, the orders impugned in the petition are quashed and set aside. 7. As far as the interveners are concerned, a grievance is raised that they are 7 in number. They are all shopkeepers. The decision of the Additional Municipal Commissioner is that these 7 shopkeepers should not be made members of petitioner No.2 society. It has been observed by him that the 7 shopkeepers have a different interest inasmuch as they claim shops with frontage. At one stage they gave up their claim for the frontage and were willing to shift to the rear portion of the building to be constructed at site. As far as the area to be made available to all the shopkeepers is concerned, even today and on earlier occasions, an attempt was made to reconcile the differences between them as also the petitioners. Despite all efforts, it appears that there is no agreement reached and even though the petitioner No.2 society was at one point of time, ready and willing to enroll them as members, the dispute still remains about their entitlement and the area so also the location of the shops. In such circumstances, while disposing of this petition, it is clarified that the order passed today shall not in any manner prevent these interveners from filing their own and substantive proceedings before appropriate forum and claim such reliefs as are available to them in law. 8. All contentions of these interveners are kept open. Petition disposed of in these terms. No costs. (S.C.DHARMADHIKARI, J.)