November 08, 2025: In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that disputes between members of a co-operative housing society and developers regarding redevelopment projects fall under the jurisdiction of the cooperative court, not civil courts. Justice Amit Borkar delivered the verdict while deciding a batch of petitions filed by members of a Mumbai-based housing society, challenging a 2019 cooperative appellate court order that had restricted the cooperative court’s authority to hear their case against a developer.
The dispute dates back to 2006, when the society’s administrator allegedly signed a redevelopment agreement with Pancharatna Properties without proper authorization. Society members approached the cooperative court in 2013, seeking to declare both the resolution approving the project and the agreement itself illegal.
While the cooperative court initially ruled that it was competent to hear the matter, the appellate court later limited its jurisdiction, prompting the society members to move the high court.
Justice Borkar, setting aside the 2019 order, observed that when a redevelopment agreement “touches the business or management of the society,” the cooperative court is the appropriate forum for adjudication. The court further clarified that the developer, having executed the agreement through the society’s administrator, was merely acting as the society’s agent and not as an independent entity.
“The agreement does not confer ownership or title on the developer. It only authorises him to act for and on behalf of the society,” the court noted.
Citing Section 91 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, the high court held that all disputes arising from such redevelopment agreements must be heard by the cooperative court. The 2019 appellate order was quashed, and the cooperative court was permitted to adjudicate the case in full.
Source: Hindustan Times
