Case Law Details
Bengaluru Urban Zilla Amateur Kabbadi Association Vs State of Karnataka (Karnataka High Court)
Karnataka High Court held that section 7 of the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960 mandates that once a society is registered with a particular name, another society should not be registered with undesirable names.
Facts- The 1st petitioner i.e. Bengaluru Urban Zilla Amateur Kabbadi Association’ along with others is before this court questioning the order of District Registrar of Societies, cancelling the registration of the petitioner/Association for violation of Section 27(2) of the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960.
Conclusion- Held that Section 7 mandates that Societies should not be registered with undesirable names. The mandate of the provision is that Society shall not be registered by name which in the opinion of the Registrar is undesirable for the reason that a name which is identical with or too nearly reassembles the name by which the Society first in existence has been previously registered would be deemed to be undesirable. If the names of the petitioner/Association and the 3rd respondent/Association are juxtaposed and considered on the mandate of the statute, what would unmistakably emerge is, the names are identical, they are not too nearly resembling each other but they are the same except usage of version of the language in Kannada and English. Such a Society of the 3rd respondent could not have been registered by the District Registrar after registration of the petitioner/Association as the petitioner/Association is registered long before the registration of the 3rd respondent/Association. This is the genesis of the problem that is generated by the District Registrar.
Held that what would unmistakably emerge is that registration of the 3rd respondent/ Association runs foul of the mandate of Section 7 of the Act, as both the Associations are not too nearly similar but are virtually same. Once a Society is registered with a particular name, registration of a second Society with the same name is impermissible. Section 27 of the Act makes acts to be unlawful activity only after the registration of the Society. The Legislature in its wisdom has not made pre-registration acts an offence. Therefore, the very complaint registered, inquiry held and the order of cancellation of registration of the petitioner/Association would all thus be rendered illegal and unsustainable.
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