Project documents must remain in court custody pending adjudication of the apartment society’s validity.

The petitioners, including the developer and landowners of an apartment project, challenged a trial-court order in O.S. No. 7113/2025 directing them to produce documents referred to in the plaintiff Society’s I.A. No. 4 within 15 days

They contended that the plaintiff Co-operative Society had not been constituted lawfully and that a Flat Owners’ Association, rather than a Co-operative Society, was required; they also asserted that a document relating to a clubhouse owned by an independent entity was not in their custody

The High Court noted that the project flats had been conveyed to purchasers and that the legality of the Society’s constitution remained for determination at trial

1. Whether the trial court’s direction to produce the project documents should be set aside because the petitioners disputed the legal constitution of the plaintiff Society

2. Whether the petitioners’ apprehension could be addressed by requiring the trial court to retain the deposited documents pending determination of the Society’s legal status

3. Whether the petitioners could raise before the trial court their contention that the clubhouse document was not in their custody

The High Court exercised its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India

It held that documents relating to a completed apartment project, after the flats have been conveyed to purchasers, are required to be preserved for the flat owners’ benefit and the promoter or developer cannot claim a right over those project documents

The Court did not determine the legal requirements for constituting a Co-operative Society or Flat Owners’ Association; it stated that this question must be decided at trial under the applicable law, the relevant judgments of the High Court, and circulars issued by competent authorities

The Court found that the petitioners’ objection to the Society’s constitution did not, by itself, justify withholding the project documents, particularly because the documents concerned the project and the flats had been conveyed to purchasers

However, rather than allow the Society immediate possession of the documents while its legal status remained disputed, the Court directed that documents deposited pursuant to the impugned order remain in the trial court’s custody until that dispute is adjudicated

As to the clubhouse document, the Court left the petitioners free to raise the question of custody before the trial court, which must consider it when receiving the documents

The petitioners may raise before the trial court their claim that the clubhouse document is not in their custody