Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has fined the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) Rs.10,000 for the delay in verifying documents related to the members of a housing society in west Delhi.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the society which alleged that the RCS had been sitting over the list of its members even after the verification process.

Since 2005, the registrar could not verify the documents and forward the list of members of the housing society to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which was supposed to conduct the draw of lots for allotment of flats, the petition said.

A division bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul told the RCS: “Forward the names of members to the DDA for holding a draw within 10 days.”

The bench also imposed a fine of Rs.10,000 on the RCS. “Pay the fine to Jai Bhawani Cooperative Group Housing Society Ltd (Dwarka) in 15 days,” said the bench.

“We are pained to note that other than calling upon us to repeatedly pass the same kind of orders and causing wastage of judicial time, the RCS appears to be doing nothing,” said the bench in its order Thursday.

“Once the principles are set out by this court and accepted, there is no reason why every society must keep on approaching this court for holding a draw of lots and for seeking allotment. The legal position having been settled, the RCS should have volunteered to forward the names to the DDA,” said the bench.

“The RCS is not forwarding the list to the DDA for holding a draw of lots, causing harassment to the members,” said the petition.

“The society was offered land by the DDA in 1998 at Sector 22, Dwarka. On completion of 90 percent construction, it sent a letter to the RCS proposing allotment of flats to 69 members. Despite this, the names were not forwarded to the DDA and the members are hanging fire for more than five years since December 2005,” the bench said.

The RCS said that it was not forwarding the list to the DDA due to the fact that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not filed a charge sheet in a criminal case pertaining to the housing society.

Justice Kaul said: “The RCS must be penalised for such conduct and…the costs which we seek to impose now would continue to escalate for every such repeated stand taken by the RCS contrary to our directions, which is really contumacious in character and would be from the personal account of the RCS.”