Ms. Laltesh Thakur vs Registrar Of Cooperrative Socities And Ors.

Court
Delhi High Court

$~20
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
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Date of decision: 13 July, 2026
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Uploaded on: 16 July, 2026
+ W.P.(C) 13476/2019
MS. LALTESH THAKUR .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Udit Malik, Adv.
versus
REGISTRAR OF COOPERATIVE
SOCIETIES AND ORS. .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Abhinav Sharma, Adv. for R-1.
Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pathak, Standing
Counsel with Mr. Sunil Kumar Jha,
Mr. M. S. Akhtar and Mr. Kushagra
Dixit, Advocates for R-1,2 & 3.
Mr. Dev Manan, Adv. for the Society.
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUSTICE VIKAS MAHAJAN
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. The present petition has been filed by one Ms. Laltesh Thakur, a senior
citizen aged more than 66 years.
3. The issue in this case relates to one flat bearing no. DG-2 (hereinafter,
‘the flat’) in Respondent No. 4 Society – Pink Cooperative Group Housing
Society Ltd. situated at Plot No.1/2, Sector 13, Rohini, Delhi ( hereinafter ‘the
Society’ ).
4. The grievance of the Petitioner is that she had applied for membership
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By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
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of the Society in 1997 and got possession of the said flat after paying all the
requisite amounts in an auction conducted on behalf of the Society, by the
Administrator appointed by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies
( hereinafter ‘RCS’ ) who was managing the affairs of the Society.
5. However, till date, the allotment letter and the lease deed with respect
to the flat, have not been executed in her favour by the Delhi Development
Authority (hereinafter, ‘DDA’) . Thus, the prayer in the present petition is for
regularization of the allotment of flat to the Petitioner.
6. The brief background is that the Society had constructed 107 flats and
during the tenure of one Mr. K.R. Dutt, the Administrator who was also a
retired ACP, open bids were invited for the auction of Flat no. DG-2 at the
Society.
7. The bid of the Petitioner was accepted, being the highest bid quoted for
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the flat and on 20 September, 1999, the Administrator conveyed the
acceptance of the bid vide a letter containing a demand of Rs. 11,00,000/- for
the flat.
8. An allotment letter was also issued to the Petitioner by the
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Administrator on 27 October, 1999 after the Petitioner made the requisite
payment and thereafter, possession of the flat was also handed over.
9. The possession letter and the share certificate with respect to the flat
are placed on record by the Petitioner.
10. The Petitioner has been in possession of the flat since then and has
given repeated reminders to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies
(hereinafter, ‘RCS’) and to the DDA for regularization of her flat, as is being
done in the case of other members.
11. However, since no action was taken, the present petition has been filed
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Digitally Signed
By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
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before this Court. The prayer in the present petition is as under:
“A) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate
writ, order or direction to Registrar Cooperative
Societies and Delhi Development Authority to
regularize the allotment of flat No. DG - 2 in possession
and occupation of the Petitioner in the Housing
Complex of the Society.”
12. DDA which is Respondent No. 3 in this matter has taken a position that
there was an earlier writ petition being W.P.(C) 5649/2014 titled Pink Coop.
st
Group Housing Society Ltd. v. RCS & Ors. in which an order dated 1
February, 2016 came to be passed by this Court.
13. In the said order dated 1st February, 2016, the list of members of the
Society was submitted and the Petitioner’s name was not part of the said list.
It was for this reason that the DDA could not regularize the allotment of flat
of the Petitioner. It is further stated by the DDA that the DDA merely
regularizes those members whose names are recommended by the RCS.
14. On behalf of the RCS, the stand is that the names of the members in
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terms of the order dated 1 February, 2016 and a letter dated 17 February,
2016 were forwarded to the Society and the Society was asked to submit the
requisite documents.
15. The names of 95 members were then forwarded to the DDA by the RCS
on the basis of the list provided by the Society. There were a total 105
members whose regularization was recommended by the RCS on the basis of
documents submitted by the Society. However, the Petitioner’s name did not
appear in the said list.
16. The stand of the RCS is that it appears that two extra flats beyond what
was permitted by the DDA may have been constructed by the Society and one
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By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
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of those 2 flats, being Flat No. DG-2 flat was, in fact, auctioned by the
Administrator with requisite approvals of the RCS. It is for this reason that
the name of the Petitioner may not have been there in the list of 105 members.
17. The RCS’s submission is that the construction of two extra flats was
not permissible at that point.
18. Insofar as DDA is concerned, in its affidavit, no objection has been
raised to the effect that there was any unauthorized construction in the
Society.
19. The above facts would show that total of 107 flats were constructed and
there is no grievance that there was any unauthorised construction. The
Petitioner had purchased the flat in an auction conducted by the Society’s
Administrator. The Petitioner’s hard-earned money has been spent on this flat
and there was no reason for the Petitioner to doubt the status of the flat for
any reason whatsoever. The manner and the reasons for which the said two
flats may have been constructed in the Society is not to be gone into after 30
years by this Court.
20. Further, the Society’s affidavit, in respect of the Administrator’s
authority to auction the flat reads as under:
“2. That as per the records of the society, in the
year 1999, Laltesh Thakur was allotted and was handed
over the possession of Flat No. DG-2, Pink Cooperative
Group Housing Society, Sector-13, Rohini, Delhi-
110085 by the then Administrator Sh. K.R. Dutt.
3. That the petitioner Laltesh Thakur is the member of
the society vide Membership No.211 and is residing in
the aforesaid flat since 1999.
4. That the respondent no.4/society has no objection in
case the office of the RCS and the DDA hereby
regularize the allotment of the aforesaid flat in favour of
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By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
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the petitioner, as prayed in the present writ petition.”
21. In view of the stand of the Society, it is clear that the Petitioner is a
bona fide auction purchaser of the flat in question. If there were any
irregularities in the construction of the flat, the Petitioner cannot be blamed.
Moreover, the Administrator who auctioned the flat was also appointed by the
RCS and the RCS has a fiduciary responsibility in this regard as well. Both
the Society and the RCS have an obligation to now regularize the membership
of the Petitioner and ensure that the regularization of the flat is also effected.
22. The auction was conducted by the Society under the Administrator way
back in 1999. The said auction is genuine and has not been doubted or
disputed by any party.
23. The flat has been in existence for almost 30 years and the Petitioner has
been in possession thereof since 1999.
24. Clearly, the Petitioner has been issued a proper share certificate,
possession letter and the allotment has been done by the Society to the
Petitioner. The process that remains is for verification of the documents of the
Petitioner and thereafter sending of recommendation by the RCS to the DDA
for regularisation of the flat of the Petitioner.
25. Accordingly, let the Petitioner along with an office bearer of the
nd
Society appear before the RCS on 22 July, 2026 at 11:30 a.m . After
collecting all the requisite documents and verifying the same, the RCS shall
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send the recommendation to the DDA by 20 August, 2026.
26. Upon the recommendations of the RCS being received, the DDA shall
make the necessary allotment and execute the lease deed in favour of the
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Petitioner by 30 September, 2026.
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By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
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27. During the process of verification, the Society shall also endorse the
name of the Petitioner as the member of Society in terms of the Delhi
Cooperative Societies Act, 1972 and Rules, 2007.
28. The affidavit emailed by the Respondent No.4’s Counsel is taken on
record.
29. Petition is disposed of in these terms. All pending applications, if any,
are also disposed of.
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30. List for compliance on 15 October, 2026.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUDGE
VIKAS MAHAJAN
JUDGE
JULY 13, 2026
Rahul/ss
Signature Not Verified
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Digitally Signed
By:DEVANSHU JOSHI
Signing Date:16.07.2026
16:42:15