Mumbai: Dy registrar orders financial re-audit of Juhu's Kapole CHS

Kapole is home to Bollywood A-listers like the Bachchans and Kajol and Ajay Devgn. File pic/Satej Shinde

Allegations of corruption and financial misappropriation continue in Mumbai's most coveted housing society, which is home to several Bollywood A-listers. Almost 10 months after the managing committee of Kapole Cooperative Housing Society (CHS) was dissolved following corruption charges, the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Housing Society, K West Ward, issued directives to conduct a financial re-audit of the society. The move comes after a few members alleged financial misappropriation and missing documents.

Residents have now alleged that despite knowing that the property and financial papers are missing, neither the administrator nor the deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies registered an FIR.

Talking to mid-day, well-known author and resident of the society, Siddharth Sanghvi said, "In 2022, the Kapole society managing committee was dissolved after office bearers were accused of financial fraud and forgery. I wrote to Deputy Registrar Nitin Dahibhate seeking a financial audit. He did not carry out an audit in time, and far more shockingly, financial records and minutes books were stolen from the Kapole society office while under the administration of the deputy registrar, and still there has been no FIR to date."

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In July 2022, allegations of irregularities, forgery, and corruption by residents forced the managing committee of the high-profile cooperative housing society to resign. Last year, mid-day published a number of stories on the issue that went into great detail.

In May 2022 mid-day had first reported about residents of the society levelling a series of allegations, including forgery, corruption, and irregularities in the functioning of the committee. Two residents had also moved the Bombay High Court, challenging the very process of electing the society's managing committee.

MC members resign

Following the developments, seven of the eight members of the managing committee handed in their resignations. On July 7, Nitin Dahibhate, deputy registrar of cooperative housing socieities (K West), ordered the formation of a new board of administrators. The order states that under Section 77 A (B-1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (MCS) Act, 1960, a board of administrators comprising one or more members can be formed when the managing committee of the society is dissolved.

Now even after 10 months since the managing committee was dissolved no action has been taken on the allegations.

In April this year, 10 residents and members of the housing society wrote to the deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies, urging him to conduct a re-audit of the financial balance sheets of the society for the financial years 2019-20, 2020-2021 and 2021-22. They have cited two reasons for the same: 1. discrepancies in the audited balance sheets of December 2022; and 2. money spent without authorisation by members in the Annual General Body Meeting and Special General Body Meeting.

Jayant Sanghvi, one of the complainants and a resident, said, "I have moved the joint registrar and Bombay High Court against the bungling and irregularities by the managing committee. The former managing committee during its term in September 2022 presented balance sheets wherein they stated that around R22.50 lakh are to be recovered from me towards the cost of lawyers they hired for the case I had filed against the society. I am the aggrieved party, I am a complainant in the case. I approached the court for justice but the society will recover that amount from me. The amount they have mentioned is five times more than what I have spent on legal services so far in the case. They have made this a joke."

He added, "As per the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act 1960, monetary transactions above R50,000 need approval from the SGM. This approval is to be given before spending the sum, not after. There are many irregularities, like the distribution of funds without the approval of society members, plots being merged, and still they collect money twice. The administrator is yet to lodge an FIR for the missing important property and financial documents."

Officials speak

Dahibhate, deputy registrar of cooperative housing societies (K West), said, "We have issued directions for conducting a re-audit of the audited financial balance sheet as a few society members have requested for the same. I have written to the district registrar of housing societies to appoint an auditor for the same. As per Section 81(6) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 for re-auditing the balance sheet of the society for the financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22. The re-audit will be conducted as soon as an order appointing an auditor is passed."

Advocate Sunita Godbole, a certified auditor, is the chairman of the Administrative Board of Kapole CHS. "We still do not know whether the register is missing or was stolen. The search for it is on. An FIR should be registered but we cannot do so in haste. When I was given charge as the administrator of the society in July 2022, the office was under renovation. We were given a temporary place as the office. In December we realised that the SGM register was missing. We had earlier given photocopies of the minutes to one of the members, Siddharth Sanghvi, from whom we could retrieve them. Hence we have a majority of the documents from the register," Godbole said.