Q.What is a certificate of registration? State its legal effect.

The certificate of registration is the document that proves a society has been legally brought into existence, and the law gives it a strong evidentiary value.

When the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, on scrutinising the application under Section 9 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, is satisfied that all the requirements of the Act and the Rules have been met and that the proposed bye-laws are lawful, he registers the society and its bye-laws and issues a certificate of registration. This certificate is a formal document, signed by the Registrar, recording that the named society has been registered under the Act. It is, in effect, the society's birth certificate, and it is one of the most important documents the society will ever hold.

The legal effect of the certificate is twofold and considerable. First, and most significantly, the certificate has strong evidentiary value fixed by the Act itself: a certificate of registration signed by the Registrar is conclusive evidence that the society mentioned in it is duly registered, unless it is proved that the registration of the society has since been cancelled. 'Conclusive evidence' means that the fact of valid registration cannot ordinarily be questioned or reopened by anyone dealing with the society; the certificate settles the matter. This gives certainty to members, creditors, banks, and the public who deal with the society, since they need not investigate for themselves whether every step of the registration process was correctly followed — the certificate is sufficient proof. …