ASPANDIAR RASHID IRANI Vs. PASAYADAN COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the questions of law and fact arising in all these writ petitions are identical, it is appropriate to decide all the writ petitions together by a common Judgment and Order.

(2.) The facts necessary for deciding this group of writ petitions are taken from Writ Petition No. 8045 of 2025. The petitioners state that on 26/9/1996, they entered into an unregistered development agreement with one P and M Associates. Under the said agreement, the agreed consideration was four flats on the fourth floor, which was later changed to the fifth floor. After the construction was completed, respondent No. 1 society came to be registered on 18/5/2005. In terms of the development agreement, the petitioners were put in possession of four flats on the fifth floor. It is the case of the petitioners that no registered agreement was ever executed in their favour. It is further their case that after they were put in possession, the society neither issued maintenance bills nor raised any demand for maintenance charges from them.

(3.) On 29/3/2023, the society issued a demand notice calling upon the petitioners to pay arrears of maintenance from the year 2005. As the said amount was not paid, the society, on 27/9/2024, filed four applications under Sec. 154B-29 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 for recovery of alleged maintenance dues along with service charges.