Regarding membership in a Cooperative Housing Society
Father and mother has one son and one married daughter.
Father and mother who has jointly owner of a flat at Kolkata gifted it to his only son in the year 2016 by a Registered Gift Deed and as such the son became owner of that flat.
Now father who is the single owner of another flat in a Cooperative Housing Society at a different place of Kolkata having nomination in favour of his wife (son's mother) in the records of the Cooperative Housing Society had gifted that flat also in his old age (75 years) to above son by a Registered Gift Deed in December, 2020 where the mother was one of the witnesses. Father confidentially asked son neither to disclose this Gift Deed matter of this Cooperative flat to any one of his family nor the Committee members of Cooperative Housing Society and asked his son to disclose it and claim his membership only after his father's death.
Now after death of the father, his wife (son's mother) has applied to the Cooperative Housing Society seeking membership in the name of herself. She is ignoring / forgetting the Gift Deed matter and her only daughter and brother-in-law are giving pressure to the society to give membership to her mother. Mother and her daughter stopped talking with her only son / brother and broke all connections.
Lastly, the son now the absolute owner by virtue of this Gift Deed coming to know that her mother has given pressure to the society to get her membership addressed the society through a letter under acknowledgement by the Chairman of the Managing Committee disclosing about the Registered Gift Deed his father has made in favour of him in December, 2020 and seek his membership.
The society falls in a difficult situation.
Now the question is whether the society may object the son's membership request in the Cooperative Housing Society citing that he has another flat at a different place of Kolkata since as per Section 87 (c) of Cooperative Society's Act, 2012 "an individual shall be eligible for membership of a Housing Cooperative Society if he does not own any plot of bastu land, house or flat within the local limits of any Municipal Corporation or municipality or town or any given Panchayet or any notified area authority where the housing Cooperative Society is situated other than the one in relation to which the membership of a housing Cooperative Society is applied for by him under this section".
Further, as per Section 92 (3) of Cooperative Society's Act, 2012, it is given as follows.
"Provided also that membership of a person in a Cooperative housing society shall not cease if the membership or any member of his family becomes owner of any land, house or flat through inheritance and if he still continues to have genuine need of accommodation in the project of the society."
Can the son get membership from the Solciety ? Can Society deny him membership on the ground that the son has another flat within the jurisdiction of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.