Q.What happens if the Registrar refuses to register a proposed co-operative society? What remedies are available to the promoters?

The Registrar's power to register carries with it the power to refuse, but the Act does not leave promoters without recourse.

Just as the Registrar has the power under Section 9 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 to register a proposed society when he is satisfied that all requirements are met, he also has the power to refuse registration when he is not so satisfied — for instance, where the minimum number of eligible members from different families is not made out, where the object is not a genuine co-operative one, where the capital has not been properly collected, where the name is unacceptable, or where the proposed bye-laws are contrary to the Act or the Rules. But this power of refusal is not unchecked; the Act surrounds it with safeguards that protect honest promoters.

The first safeguard concerns delay. The Act requires the Registrar to decide the application within a limited period fixed by the statute. If the Registrar neither registers the society nor communicates a refusal within that period, the society is treated as having been registered. This deemed-registration provision ensures that promoters who have done everything correctly are not left waiting indefinitely because of administrative inaction.

The second safeguard concerns the form of a refusal. A refusal to register cannot be a bare or silent rejection; the Registrar must pass an order refusing registration and communicate it to the applicants together with the reasons for the refusal. Requiring reasons is important, because it tells the promoters exactly why the application failed and what they would need to put right. …