Mumbai, Aug. 7 -- The Bombay High Court has set aside the Maharashtra co-operation minister's 2025 order upholding the de-registration of the Hatkesh Udyog Nagar Industrial Premises Co-operative Housing Society in Mira Road, holding that the builder could not seek to disband the society by citing illegalities that were his own doing. "If a developer constructs a building without securing permissions, sells units therein, and after a society is formed by the unit purchasers, he applies for de-registration on the ground that the building constructed by him is illegal... Can de-registration of a society be undertaken in such a case at the instance of an errant developer? The answer to my mind appears to be in the negative," a single-judge bench of justice Sandeep Marne observed in his order. The court was hearing a petition filed by members of the society, which comprises 72 industrial units in an industrial estate near the Mira Road end of Ghodbunder Road. The members had challenged the co-operation minister's 2025 order upholding an earlier decision of the divisional joint registrar to de-register the society. They argued that dismantling the society, registered in 2008, would adversely affect the collective management of the industrial estate and lead to "total chaos". The dispute dates back to 2015, when Paresh Vora, the proprietor of Hatkesh Builders, who sold the industrial units to the petitioners, sought the society's de-registration. He cited discrepancies in the society's registration proposal, such as a mismatch in the number of industrial units and overwriting with white ink, along with illegal construction on the site. The society members, however, argued that the alleged illegalities were Vora's doing. After hearing both parties, the court said, "No doubt, there appears to be some discrepancy in some of the documents which appear on record of the deputy registrar along with the registration proposal." However, it added that the background in which the proposal was submitted also needs to be considered. The court said that the application for de-registration was "cleverly drafted" without disclosing how the industrial units were constructed. It also noted that the builder continued constructing and selling the industrial units without obtaining the necessary development permission from the planning authority, instead relying on a no-objection certificate granted by the Ghodbunder gram panchayat. Justice Marne said that after carrying out massive unauthorised construction, the builder was now seeking the de-registration of the society by citing his own illegalities. He also noted that although the first units had been sold in 1979, "despite the passage of 28 long years, he (builder) has done precious little for the formation of society." He added that the builder wanted to have the society disbanded "for achieving the obvious oblique motive of claiming rights in the land from which he has already profiteered". The judge observed that, in ordinary circumstances, if discrepancies had been found in the registration documents, the court would not have interfered in the de-registration order. "However, once this court is convinced that de-registration of the society would enure to the benefit of respondent No 1 (builder), who himself is responsible for not securing necessary permissions, it would not be appropriate to uphold the order of de-registration," he added....