Mumbai, September 26, 2026: The Bombay High Court has directed a Santacruz cooperative housing society to allot two unfinished flats to a couple after holding that their earlier allotment to the directors of the society’s contractor was “clearly arbitrary”.
Justice Sandeep Marne directed the society to cancel the allotment of Flats 801 and 802 in the Shamrock building to Ramesh Mankani and Renu Mankani, directors of Jet Speed Developers Pvt Ltd, and enter the names of Dr Omprakash Soniminde and his wife, Chandrakala, in its membership register.
The couple, however, has been directed to pay Rs 2.5 crore to the existing allottees within six weeks.
Dispute Dates Back Decades
The dispute dates back nearly three decades. The society had decided in 1996 to construct additional floors on its Le Chateau and Shamrock buildings by using TDR/FSI. At an extraordinary general body meeting, it resolved that the additional flats would be allotted to existing members, subject to payment of construction and TDR costs.
The Sonimindes were initially allotted Flats 701 and 702. The society later cancelled their allotment, citing non-payment of the required contribution, and transferred the flats to the contractor’s directors.
The couple challenged the decision, arguing that the contractor’s directors were not society members and had no independent right over the society’s land or building. They contended that existing members could not be denied the benefit of the additional construction.
Court Examines Flat Allotments
The High Court agreed that the allotment of the additional flats to the contractor’s directors was arbitrary. However, it declined to disturb their possession of Flats 701 and 702, noting that the occupants had been living there for a considerable period and that the Sonimindes had not paid their contribution for those flats.
The court took a different view of Flats 801 and 802 as they remained unfinished and unoccupied. It held that the contractor’s directors had no independent claim over the flats and that the existing members were entitled to benefit from the additional construction.
Accordingly, the court directed the society to formally cancel the existing allotment of Flats 801 and 802 and record the Sonimindes as members.
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Rs 2.5 Crore Payment Condition
The couple must pay Rs 2.5 crore to the existing allottees within six weeks. If they refuse to accept the amount, the Sonimindes can deposit it with the society and take possession with police assistance.
The court clarified that if the payment is not made within six weeks, the existing allotment of the flats will revive.
The High Court set aside the orders of the Cooperative Court and Cooperative Appellate Court and partly allowed the couple’s petition.
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