In a recent court decision, the High Court of Bombay has stopped the managing committee of the Splendor Complex in Mumbai from having any meetings or making decisions until a problem is solved or new elections are held.
This case started with a complaint by Sudhir Agarwal, a member of the community, questioning whether the current managing committee was still valid. The committee was chosen for the years 2022 to 2027, but problems began when many members quit, raising doubts about whether the committee was still legally okay.
On August 4, 2024, seven committee members quit, which was a major event. At first, the committee had 18 elected members out of a possible 19. The quitting of these members brought the number of active committee members below the required level.
"The committee must always have more than two-thirds of its allowed number as elected members." - Court Decision
The people who filed the complaint, represented by Senior Advocate Mr. Atul Damle, argued that the committee was properly formed at the beginning. They said that the resignations shouldn't stop the committee from working. However, the court decided that the committee's numbers had indeed dropped below the required level.
The court, led by Judge Amit Borkar, decided that the committee was no longer properly formed after the series of resignations. The decision stressed that a managing committee must keep more than two-thirds of its members as elected people throughout its term.
"Once the elected number falls below the required level, the committee stops being a properly formed managing committee." - Court Decision
Because of this decision, the committee is not allowed to have meetings or make decisions until the problem is solved or new elections are held. This decision shows how important it is to have a properly formed committee to ensure fair functioning within cooperative communities.
Suresh Agarwal and the other people involved now need to either solve the problem or go ahead with new elections to form a new committee.
The court decided that the current managing committee is not valid anymore because too many members quit, and they can't have meetings or make decisions until new elections are held or the issue is resolved.
