Law: Sindh Cooperative Housing Societies Act, 2020

Section: 55(1), 55(2)

Tagline The Registrar of Cooperative Societies cannot initiate a suo motu inquiry under the Sindh Cooperative Societies Act, 2020, in the absence of the mandatory statutory requisitions from the society, its managing committee, or its members.    Summary The Petitioner, Pir Ilahi Bux Cooperative Housing Society, filed a Constitutional Petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, challenging Inquiry Order No. RCS/KYC/424/2025 passed by the Registrar Cooperative Societies (Respondent No. 2). The inquiry was initiated under Section 55(1) of the Sindh Cooperative Societies Act, 2020, following complaints from third parties and political figures regarding the construction of a boundary wall on a plot historically reserved for a bus stop, which the Society aimed to protect from encroachments and criminal elements. The High Court of Sindh ruled that the Registrar's authority to order an inquiry under Section 55(1) is strictly conditional and not unfettered. The statute requires specific statutory triggers: a requisition by the society itself, a majority of the managing committee, or not less than one-third of the members. Since none of these statutory prerequisites were met, and the inquiry was prompted solely by external administrative and political complaints, the Registrar acted without jurisdiction. The Court held that administrative authorities must operate strictly within the bounds of their enabling statute, declaring the impugned order void ab initio and setting it aside. ORDER; Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, J. – Petitioner has filed this Constitutional Petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, with the following prayer: -   Declare that the Impugned Order No. RCS/KYC/424/2025 Dated 26.12.2025, passed by Respondent No.2, is illegal, ultra vires, contrary to law, Act-2020, Bye-Laws of the Society, Rules, 2020, as such having no legal effects. Declare that the impugned order has been passed by the Respondent No.2 without jurisdiction and that too without having the prerequisite as contemplated in Section 55(2) of the Sindh Cooperative Societies Act, 2020. Declare that for…