Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has held that a cooperative housing society (CHS) cannot avoid arbitration merely because it was not a signatory to the original sale agreements. Once a society is formed, it inherits the rights and obligations of its members, including arbitration clauses with the developer.
Justice N.J. Jamadar dismissed a plea by Shivranjan Towers Sahakari Griha Rachana Sanstha Maryadit challenging arbitration proceedings initiated by Bhujbal Construction. The Court upheld a May 14, 2025 order of a sole arbitrator that had rejected the society’s objection under Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The dispute concerns land at Pashan, Pune, where Bhujbal Construction built five residential blocks. Flat buyers later formed the society, which obtained a deemed conveyance in 2019 for 16,280 sq mtrs. The builder disputed this, claiming entitlement to only 7,469 sq mtrs, and invoked arbitration.
The Court reasoned that since the society relied on the same agreements for deemed conveyance, it could not deny being bound by their dispute resolution clauses.
Takeaway: Housing societies cannot selectively accept contractual benefits while rejecting arbitration obligations.
Thanks for engaging with The Supreme Rights, your reading time and love is valuable to us!!
Also read: https://thesupremerights.com/your-data-your-rules-what-the-dpdp-act-means-for-you-in-2025/