Societies Registration Act 1860 – Applicability, Member, Fees

It is an Act for the registration of literary, scientific and charitable societies. How to register a society under societies Registration Act 1860. What is minimum members. How to prepare memorandum and Rules and regulations.

Applicability:

The following societies may be registered under this Act:-

• Charitable societies,
• the military orphan funds or societies established at the several presidencies of India,
• societies established for the promotion of science, literature, or the fine arts for instruction,
• the diffusion of useful knowledge,
• the foundation or maintenance of libraries or reading-rooms for general use among the members or open to the public or public museums and galleries of paintings and other works of art,
• collections of natural history,
• mechanical and philosophical inventions,
• instruments, or designs.

Governing body defined:

The governing body of the society shall be the governors, council, directors, committee, trustees, or other body to whom by the rules and regulations of the society the management of its affairs is entrusted.

Registration:

Any seven or more persons associated for any literary, scientific, or charitable purpose, or for any such purpose as is described in section 20 of this Act, may, by subscribing their names to a memorandum of association, and filing the same with Registrar of Joint-stock Companies form themselves into a society under this Act.

Member defined:

For the purposes of this Act a member of a society shall be a person who:

• having been admitted therein according to the rules and regulations thereof,
• shall have paid a subscription,
• or shall have signed the roll or list of members thereof,
• and shall not have resigned in accordance with such rules and regulations;

Disqualified members : But in all proceedings under this Act no person shall be entitled to vote or be counted as a member whose subscription at the time shall have been in arrears for a period exceeding three months.

Memorandum of association:

The memorandum of association shall contain the following things:

• the name of the society;
• the object of the society;
• the names, addresses, and occupations of the governors, council, directors, committee, or other governing body to whom, by the rules of the society, the management of its affairs is entrusted.
• A copy of the rules and regulations of the society, certified to be a correct copy by not less than three of the members of the governing body, shall be filed with the memorandum of association.

Registration and fees:

Upon such memorandum and certified copy being filed, the Registrar shall certify under his hand that the society is registered under this Act. There shall be paid to the Registrar for every such registration a fee of fifty rupees, or such smaller fees as the State Government may from time to time, direct.

Annual list of managing body to be filed:

Once in every year, on or before the fourteenth day succeeding the day on which, according to the rules of the society, the annual general meeting of the societies is held, or, if it rules do not provide for an annual general meeting, in the months of January, list shall be filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, of the names, addresses and occupations of the governors, council, director, committee, or other governing body then entrusted with the management of the affairs of the society.

Property of society how vested:

The property, movable and immovable belonging to a society registered under this Act, if not vested in trustees, shall be deemed to be vested, for the time being, in the governing body of such society, and in all proceedings civil and criminal, may be described as the property of the governing body of such society for their proper title.

Suits by and against societies:

Every society registered under this Act may sue or be sued in the name of President, Chairman, or Principal Secretary, or trustees, as shall be determined by the rules and regulations of the society and, in default of such determination, in the name of such person as shall be appointed by the governing body for the occasion.

 PROVIDED that it shall be competent for any person having a claim, or demand against the society, to sue the President or Chairman, or Principal Secretary or the trustees thereof, if on application the governing body some other officer or person be not nominated to be the defendant.

Enforcement of judgment against society:

If a judgment shall be recovered against the person or officer named on behalf of the society, such judgment shall not be put in force against the property, movable or immovable, or against the body of such person or officer, but against the property of the society. The application for execution shall set forth the judgement, the fact of the party against whom it shall have been recovered having sued or having been sued, as the case may be, on behalf of the society only, and shall require to have the judgement enforced against the property of the society.

Recovery of penalty accruing under bye-law:

Whenever by any bye-law duly made in accordance with the rules and regulations of the society, or, if the rules do not provide for the making of bye laws, by any bye-laws made at a general meeting of the members of the society convened for the purpose (for the making of which the concurrent votes of three fifths of the members present at such meeting shall be necessary), any pecuniary penalty is imposed for the breach of any rule or bye-law of the society, such penalty, when accrued, may be recovered in any court having jurisdiction where the defendant shall reside, or the society shall be situate, as the governing body thereof shall deem expedient.

Members liable to be sued as strangers:

• Any member who may be in arrear of a subscription which according to the rules of the society he is bound to pay,
• or who shall possess himself of or detain any property of the society in a manner or for a time contrary to such rules,
• or shall injure or destroy any property of the society,

may be sued for such arrear or for the damage accruing from such detention, injury, or destruction of the property in the manner hereinbefore provided.

Members guilty of offences punishable as strangers:

Any member of the society who shall

• steal,
• purloin,
• embezzle any money or other property,
• or wilfully, and maliciously destroy or injure any property of such society,
• or shall forge and deed,
• bond,
• security for money,
• receipt,
• or other instrument,
• whereby the funds of the society may be exposed to loss,

shall be subject to the same prosecution, and, if convicted, shall be liable to be punished in like manner, as any person not a member would be subject and liable to in respect of the like offence.

Societies enabled to alter, extend or abridge their purposes:

Whenever it shall appear to the governing body of any society registered under this Act, which has been established for any particular purpose or purposes, that it is advisable to

• alter,
• extend,
• or abridge

such purpose to or for other purposes within the meaning of this Act,

or to amalgamate such society either wholly or partially with any other society, such governing body may submit the proposition to the members of the society in a written or printed report, and may convene a special meeting for the consideration thereof according to the regulations of the society.

Provision for dissolution of societies and adjustment of their affairs:

Any number not less than three-fifths of the members of any society may determine that it shall be dissolved, and thereupon it shall be dissolved forthwith, or at the time then agreed upon, and all necessary steps shall be taken for the disposal and settlement of the property of the society, its claims and liabilities according to the rules of the said society applicable thereto, if any, and if not, then as the governing body shall find expedient, provided that, in the event of any dispute arising among the said governing body or the members of the society, the adjustment of its affairs shall be referred to the principal court of original civil jurisdiction of the district in which the chief building of the society is situate; and the court shall make such order in the matter as it shall deem requisite.

Assent required: Provided that no societies shall be dissolved unless three-fifths of the members shall have expressed a wish for dissolution by their votes delivered in person, or by proxy, at a general meeting convened for the purpose:

Government consent: Provided that whenever any Government is a member of, or a contributor to, or otherwise interested in any society registered under this Act, such society shall not be dissolved without the consent of the Government of the State or registration.

Upon a dissolution no member to receive profit:

If upon the dissolution of any society registered under this Act there shall remain, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the said society or any of them, but shall be given to some other society, to be determined by the votes of not less than three-fifths of the members present personally or by proxy at the time of the dissolution, or in default thereof, by such court as aforesaid

Clause not to apply to Joint-stock Companies: Provided, however, that this clause shall not apply to any society which has been founded or established by the contributions of share-holders in the nature of a Joint-stock Company.

Registration of societies formed before Act:

Any company or society established for a literary, scientific or charitable purpose, and registered under Act 43 of 1850 , or any such society established and constituted previously to the passing of this Act but not registered under the said Act 43 of 1850 may at any time hereafter be registered as a society under this Act.

Assent required : Subject to the proviso that no such company or society shall be registered under this Act unless an assent to its being so registered has been given by three-fifths of the members present personally, or by proxy, at some general meeting convened for that purpose by the governing body. In the case of a company or society registered under this Act 43 of 1850, the directors shall be deemed to be such governing body.

Such societies to file memorandum, etc. with Registrar of Joint-stock Companies:

In order to any such society as is mentioned in the last proceeding section obtaining registry under this Act, it shall be sufficient that the governing body file with the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies a memorandum showing the name of the society, the objects of the society, and the names, addresses and occupations of the governing body, together with a copy of the rules and regulations of the society certified , and a copy of the report of the proceedings of the general meeting at which the registration was resolved on.

Inspection of documents:

Any person may inspect all documents filed with the Registrar under this Act on payment of a fee of one rupee for each inspection; and any person may require a copy or extract of any document or any part of any document, to be certified by the registrar, on payment of two annas for every hundred words of such copy or extract; and such certified copy shall be prima facie evidence of the matters therein contained in all legal proceedings whatever.

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