Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has stayed orders passed by govt authorities directing a cooperative housing society to grant membership to a homeowner who has resisted paying maintenance charges, alleging deficiency in services by the society’s management.The case concerns Parshwanath Atlantis Park Cooperative Housing Service Society at Sughad, and resident Manish Tanna, who owns a house there. The society was formed in 2012 with 900 members. Janaksinh Chauhan had bought a house there and later sold it to Tanna in 2018.According to the society, the sale was not disclosed to it until 2022.The previous owner had no maintenance dues, but when Tanna sought membership, he was asked to pay Rs 47,000 towards maintenance charges pending since 2018.Tanna disputed the demand, questioning the quality of services promised and provided by the society management. The matter then reached the district registrar, Cooperative Societies (Housing), in 2022.In Aug 2022, the registrar ordered the society to grant membership to Tanna, and recorded in his order that Tanna had undertaken to pay the dues towards maintenance. The society appealed before the additional registrar, who in Nov 2023 upheld the order of making Tanna a member of the society.In 2024, the society moved HC and the case has been pending since then. It filed another application recently seeking a stay on the authorities’ orders to make Tanna a member. Its counsel Archit Jani submitted that while Tanna had undertaken before the district registrar and additional registrar that he would pay the maintenance dues, but he has not paid.The lawyer further submitted that Tanna has made complaints regarding management of the society and demanded appointment of an administrator. It said he had also filed a criminal complaint before the JMFC court in Gandhinagar, alleging that the society had failed to comply with the authorities’ orders by not admitting him as a member.After hearing both sides, Justice Nirzar Desai suggested that if Tanna deposited the amount with the high court, the society could be directed to grant him provisional membership immediately. Tanna, however, objected to the amount, including a penalty of Rs 69,000 and 18% interest.When the court found that Tanna did not accept the proposal, it said, “Considering the fact that there are disputed questions of facts as well as considering the fact that on account of pendency of this petition and on account of the fact that the impugned orders dated Aug 30, 2022 and Nov 23, 2023 are not stayed, the petitioner is facing multiple litigation before various forums, I deem it appropriate to grant interim relief to the applicant as prayed for in the present Civil Application.”
