Court ends tussle between mall bodies

A three-year long legal battle between two shopowners’ associations of the Central Plaza Mall in Gurgaon has finally come to an end, with a city court ruling in favour of the registered body.

The mall is located off the Golf Course Road in Sector 53.

Interestingly, the unregistered association, supported by the mall developer, has been maintaining the facilities and charging fee from occupants despite protests by the registered body known as the Central Plaza Mall Occupants' Welfare Association (CPMOWA).

The rival group calls itself the Central Plaza Mall Owners' Welfare Association.

“It was a battle between registered and unregistered bodies and the court has acknowledged the occupants’ association. It has asked us to declare the list of elected members and entitled us to collect the maintenance fee,” said Ambeek Khemka, president of the occupants' association.

On the other hand, the owners’ association, which is not registered under the Societies Registration Act,1860, has been collecting maintenance fee by sidelining the authorised organisation.

“The court has acknowledged the certificate given by the district registrar (societies). The Act clarifies that the registered body is entitled to maintain the mall, look into other welfare issues and collect maintenance fee,” added Khemka.

The court, however, has not yet passed an order regarding which of the two associations is entitled to collect maintenance fee. Soon after the court verdict, the occupants' association submitted a list of its executive members to the district registrar.

They also requested authorities to freeze the bank account where the maintenance fee is being deposited by the owners' association.

“After the court verdict, the district registrar (societies) wrote a letter to the HDFC Bank and the bank, as we have been informed, has frozen the account,” said Chandroop Singh, a member of the occupants' association.

He added they have been facing harassment since 2009 when the feud came out in the open.

Meanwhile, the other group has denied that its bank account has been frozen.

“The district registrar (societies) has made it clear that it has no locus standi as far as freezing of the bank account is concerned,” said Varun Thuman, a member of the owners' association, adding that the court has fixed March 7 as the next date of hearing.