Mumbai, Dec 09: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed Foreshore Co-operative Housing Society Ltd., Nariman Point, to admit filmmaker Ramesh Sippy as a full-time member, holding that the society is under a “statutory obligation” to transfer the share and interest of his late mother, Katy Sippy, to him.
The court dismissed the society’s petition challenging concurrent orders passed by the Divisional Joint Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
Justice Amit Borkar upheld the revisional order dated January 27, 2025, which had confirmed the Deputy Registrar’s direction to grant Sippy membership based on nomination and succession.
Property Purchased In 1966; Nomination Passed Down To Son
The dispute concerns basement unit B-1 at the society’s building, located at 12A, General Jagannathrao Bhosale Marg, constructed in 1963. The unit was purchased by Sippy’s father, late Gopal Sippy, who was admitted as a member in April 1966 despite not owning any flat. After his death, his wife Katy Sippy became a member through nomination, and she nominated Ramesh Sippy before her death in 2007.
Sippy applied for transfer of shares in 2016. In 2018, the society admitted him only as a nominal member and later refused full membership, claiming that he owned a basement unit, and not a flat, which was a prerequisite for membership.
Registrar Earlier Held Sippy Eligible For Membership
The Deputy Registrar held in 2023 that Sippy, as the nominee and legal heir, was entitled to membership. The Revisional Authority agreed, noting the society had itself treated unit B-1 as capable of supporting membership for over five decades. The society then approached the high court.
Society Argued Basement Ownership Isn’t Eligible — Court Rejects Claim
Before the HC, the society argued that Sippy’s claim was unsustainable as he had earlier accepted nominal membership, and that Section 154B-13 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act did not automatically grant membership. It also argued the basement’s restricted use made Sippy ineligible.
Rejecting these contentions, the court said Section 154B-13 mandates transfer of “share, right, title and interest” of a deceased member to the nominee or heir, leaving “no discretion” with the society in the absence of competing claims.
“The society cannot defeat this statutory command by raising, at this late stage, an objection to the nature of the premises, when it had itself admitted the predecessors of Respondent No. 3 (Sippy) as members on the very same basis,” Justice Borkar observed.
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Basement Usage Concerns Separate Issue, Says Court
The court clarified that any alleged misuse of the basement — such as claims that Sippy used it as an office — was a separate issue, and “not a ground to refuse membership in the face of Section 154B-13”.
Finding no legal impediment to Sippy’s admission, the court dismissed the society’s petition, affirming that the society must admit him as a full member.
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