Please find herewith land mark judgment delivered on 10-4-2018 pertaining to refund of transfer charges by Bombay High Court with interest. Basically Transfer of flat is a contract between outgoing and incoming member. Just to have involvement of the society in the earlier years RS. 1/- was charged as transfer Fee. Now transfer fee is RS. 500/- and maximum amount collected under share premium account is RS. 25,000/-

For Co-operative Societies Residents Users & Welfare Association.

President
Adv Vinod Sampat

⭐😀HC says the demand of admission fees in sum of 5 % of the sale price for purpose of admitting a new member against purchase of a flat, has no legal sanction or propriety under the scheme of MCS Act, Rules and Byelaws to be framed thereunder..⭐

⭐Membership of chs is an open membership. It is not possible to put any restriction on such membership save and except as may b provided undr Act, Rules, Byelaws made consistently with the Act and Rules.. section 23(1) of MCS prohibits any society from refusing membership duly qualified under mcs rules and byelaaws of such society for such membership without sufficient cause.. if any person were to be refused admission on account of certain fee or charge, such fee or charge must be legally justified so as to give rise to sufficient cause. If any person were to be refused payment of such fee or charge, in other words, so as to amt a sufficient cause, must hav a sanction of law.. the particular GBR dated 7th Jan 1993, which autborizes society to charge a sum of 5 % of sale price of flat as admission fee for the purpose of new membership has no legal sanction. There is no such provision in d Act or the Rules or indeed in the byelaws of the society in the present case, which enables the society to pass such GBR..⭐

In law, it.must be shown that the society, which is a creature of statute, has the power to take particular action complained of witjin d framedwork of such statute or otherwise under law..

⭐What is important in law is not the identity of the person, who actually makes payment but d identity of the person on whose behalf the payment is made. It is very clear from resolution of the society that this payment is in the nature of admission fee for the purpose of admitting new members against purchase of flat in the society. In other words, it is a charge to be levied on new member.. it is immaterial who makes this payment.. such payment has no sanction of law and wrongly recoverd frm new member. It is wholly immaterial who made this payment willingly or under protest. As long as it is money wrongly paid, it can be recovered by the payer from the payee within the period of limitation..

There is nothing to suggest that this payment was made voluntary by new member and hav taken the advantage of this payment.. thid is also not a case of voluntary donation..

There is no doubt that the period of limitation in such case is years from the date on which the act or omission with reference to which the dispute arose took place section 92(1)(b) of Limitation Act 1963.. As this dispute is related to an act or omission on the part of the society against the member⭐😀👇👇

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