SOCIETIES REGISTRATION ACT, 1860 (GUJARAT AMENDMENT)

Preamble 1 - SOCIETIES REGISTRATION ACT, 1860

THE SOCIETIES REGISTRATION ACT, 1860^[1]

[Act, No. 21 of 1860]

[21st May, 1860]

PREAMBLE

An Act for the Registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies

Whereas it is expedient the provision should be made for improving the legal condition of societies established for the promotion of literature, science, or the fine arts, or for the diffusion of useful knowledge,[2] [the diffusion of political education], or for charitable purposes; it is enacted as follows:--

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[3] [In the preamble}

The words "literature, science" the words, "literature, science, sports" shall be substituted.]]]

Section 2 - Memorandum of association

The memorandum of association shall contain the following things, that is to say,--

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.

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[4] [In Section 2}

(1)     Section 2 of the principal Act shall be re-numbered as sub-section (1) of that section, and(2) in sub-section (1) as so renumbered, after and below the words "the name of the society;" the following shall be inserted, namely:?

"the place of situation of the registered office of the society;

the addresses and occupations of the persons who have subscribed their names to the memorandum of association under section 1;";

(2)     after sub-section (1) as so renumbered, the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:?

"(2) A society may, by a special resolution passed by a majority of not less than three-fifths of the total membership of the society, alter its memorandum of association.

(3)     The alteration of the memorandum of association shall not take effect until, and except in so far as, it is sanctioned by the Registrar who shall, before granting such sanction, satisfy himself that the alteration is not such as would have the effect of making the society ineligible for registration under this Act.".]]]

Section 3 - 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 ^{[5] [the state Government] may, from time to time, direct; and all fees so paid shall be accounted for to [6] [the state Government].}

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[7] [In Section 3}

The words "the Registrar shall certify" the words, figure and letter "the Registrar shall, subject to the provisions of section 3A, certify" shall be substituted.]

^{[8] [After Section 3}

The following new section shall be inserted, namely:?

"3A. Prohibition against registration of societies with undesirable names.--

No Society shall be registered by a name which, in the opinion of the Registrar, is undesirable, being a name which is identical with, or which in the opinion of the Registrar, so nearly resembles the name by which any other existing society has been previously registered, as to be likely to deceive the public or members of either society or which, without the previous permission of the Government concerned, suggests or is calculated to suggest the patronage of that Government or connection with any body constituted by that Government or any local authority, or which may, subject to any rules made in this behalf, be deemed to be undesirable by the Registrar.".]

Section 4 - 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 society is held, or, if the rules do not provide for an annual general meeting, in the month of January, a list shall be filed with the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies, of the names, addresses and occupations of the governors, council, directors, committee, or other governing body then entrusted with the management of the affairs of the society.

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

[9] [After Section 4

The following new section shall be inserted, namely:?

"4A. Changes in managing body and rules to be filed.--

(1)     Together with the list mentioned in section 4, there shall be sent to the Registrar a statement showing changes during the year to which the list relates in the personnel of Governors, council, directors, committee or other governing body to whom the management of the affairs of the society is entrusted and also a copy of the rules of the society corrected up to date and certified to be correct copy by not less than three of the members of the governing body.

(2)     A copy of every alteration made in the rules of the society, certified to be a correct copy by not less than three members of the governing body, shall be sent to the Registrar within thirty days of the making of such alteration".]

^{[10] [After Section 4A}

The following new section shall be inserted, namely:?

"4B. Power of Register to call for information or returns from governing body of society and provisions relating thereto.--

(1)     The Registrar may serve, or cause to be served, on the authorised officer or any society registered under this Act, a notice requiring him to furnish in such manner as may be prescribed by rules, information or returns relating to persons employed by the society, their conditions of employment (including their emoluments, any contributions, concessions or other benefits and amenities provided for employees) and matters relating thereto, as may be prescribed by such rules and the authorised officer of the society on whom such notice is served, shall be bound to comply with the requirement stated therein.

(2)     The form in which such information or returns shall be furnished, the particulars which they shall contain and the intervals (if any) at which such information or returns shall be furnished shall be such as may be prescribed by rules.

(3)     The notice referred to in sub-section (1) may be served by post.

(4)     No information or return collected for the purposes of this section shall, without the previous consent in writing of the society in relation to which the information or return was given or made, be published in such manner as would enable any particulars to be identified as referring to a particular society.

(5)     Except for the purposes of a prosecution for an offence under section 11A or under the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860), no person other than the Registrar or any person duly authorised by him in this behalf, shall be permitted to sec or to have access to any information or return furnished as aforesaid.

(6)     No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Registrar or any person acting under the authority of the Registrar in respect of anything in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this section.

Explanation.?In this section "authorised officer", in relation to any society, means such officer or employee of the society as may be authorised for the purposes of this section, by the rules and regulations of the society and in default of such authorisation by rules and regulations, by a resolution in writing by the society, and shall include,?

(i)       where any officer or employee so authorised is unable to perform his duties by reason of absence due to leave or any other cause, any other officer or employee of the society who is in charge of the duties of the officer or employee so authorised during his absence, and

(ii)      where no such officer or employee has been so authorised, any member of the governing body of the society.".]

Section 11 - Members guilty of offences punishable as strangers

Any member of the society who shall steal, purloin, or embezzle any money or other property, or wilfully and maliciously destroy or injure any property of such society, or shall forge any 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.

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[11] [After Section 11}

The following new sections shall be inserted, namely:?

"11A. Penalty for contravening section 4B.--

If any authorised officer of a society who is required to furnish any information or return under sub-section (1) of section 4B,

(i)       wilfully refuses or without lawful excuse neglects to furnish such information or return as maybe required under section 4B; or

(ii)      wilfully furnishes or causes to be furnished any information or return which he knows to be false; or

(iii)     refuses to answer or willfully gives a false answer to any question necessary for obtaining any information required to be furnished under section 4B.such authorised officer shall, on conviction, be punished for each such offence with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.

11B. Penalty for improper disclosure of information or return.--

If the Registrar or any person duly authorised by him in connection with the collection of any information or returns under this Act willfully discloses any information or the contents of any return given or made under this Act otherwise than in the execution of his duties under this Act or for the purposes of the prosecution for an offence under this Act or under the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860), he shall, on conviction, be punished for such offence with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.

11C. Sanction for prosecution.--

No prosecution for an offence under section 11A shall be instituted, except by, or with the sanction of, the Registrar, and no prosecution for an offence under section 11B shall be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the State Government."]]]

Section 12 - 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;

but no such proposition shall be carried into effect unless such report shall have been delivered or sent by post to every member of the society ten days previous to the special meeting convened by the governing body for the consideration thereof, nor unless such proposition shall have been agreed to by the votes of three-fifths of .the members delivered in person or by proxy, and confirmed by the votes of three-fifths of the members present at a second special meeting convened by the governing body at an interval of one month after the former meeting.

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[12] [After Section 12}

(a)      in sub-section (1), for the portion beginning with the words "If the proposed name" and ending with the words "or the members of cither society", the words, figure and letter "If the proposed change in name is in the opinion of the Registrar undesirable for any of the reasons mentioned in section 3A" shall be substituted;

(b)      after sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be added, namely:?

"(4) If, through inadvertence or otherwise, a society is registered by a name, by which it should not have been registered having regard to the provisions of section 3A, the Registrar may, after hearing the society concerned, direct the society to change the name; and the society shall change its name within a period of three months from the date of the direction or within such longer period as the Registrar may think fit to allow, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.".]

^{[13] [After Section 12C}

The following new sections shall be inserted, namely:?

"12D. Maintenance of accounts and their balancing and auditing.--

(1)     Every governing body entrusted with the management or the affairs of a society registered under this Act (not being a public trust within the meaning of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950(Bom. XXIX of 1950)) shall keep regular accounts.

(2)     Such accounts shall be kept in such form as may be approved by the Registrar and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed by rules.

(3)     The accounts shall be balanced each year on the thirty-first day of March or such other day as may be fixed by the Registrar.

(4)     The accounts shall be audited annually in such manner as may be prescribed by rules, by a person who is a Chartered Accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949(38 of 1949) or by such other persons as may be authorised in this behalf by the State Government.

12E. Auditor's duty to prepare balance sheet and report irregularities etc.--

(1)     It shall be the duty of every auditor auditing the accounts of a society under section 12D to prepare an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet and to forward a copy of the same to the Registrar.

(2)     The auditor shall in his report specify all eases of irregular, illegal or improper expenditure, or failure or omission to recover moneys or other properly belonging to the society, or of loss or waste of money or other property thereof; and state whether such expenditure, failure omission, loss or waste was cruised in consequence of breach of trust, or misapplication of money or other property belonging to the society or any other misconduct on the part of the governing body or any other person.".]

Section 19 - 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.

[STATE AMENDMENT

[Gujarat

^{[14] [In Section 19}

The the words "Any person may inspect" the words, figure and letter "Except as otherwise provided by section 4B, any person may inspect" shall be substituted.]

Section 20 - To what societies Act applies

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,^{[15] [the diffusion of political education], 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.}

[STATE AMENDMENTS

[Gujarat

^{[16] [After Section 21}

The following new sections shall be inserted, namely:?

"22. Penalties.--

(1)     If the president, secretary or any other person authorised in this behalf by a resolution of the governing body of the society fails to comply with the provisions of section 4, he shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees and in the case of a continuing breach, shall also be punished with fine not exceeding fifty rupees for each day, during the period the breach continues after first conviction for such offence.

(2)     If any person wilfully makes or causes to be made any false entry in, or any omission from the list required by section 4, or in or from any statement or copy of rules or alterations in rules sent to the Registrar under section 4A, he shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.

23. Trial of offences.--

(1)     No Court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class shall try an offence punishable under this Act.

(2)     No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act except upon complaint made by the Registrar or any other person authorised in writing by him. in this behalf."]

^{[17] [In Section 20}

(1)     in sub-section (1) for (he words "science, literature" the words "science, literature, sport." shall be substituted;

(2)     sub-section (2) shall be deleted.]

^{[18] [After Section 20}

In section 23 of the principal Act, in sub-section (2) after the words "punishable under this Act" the words, figures and letter "other than an offence punishable under section 11B," shall be inserted.]

^{[19] [After Section 23}

The following new section shall be inserted, namely:?

"24. Power to make rules.--

(1)     The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(2)     In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, such rules may be made for all or any of the matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed by rules.

(3)     The power to make rules confers d by this section is subject to the conditions of the rules being made after previous publication.

(4)     All rules made under this section shall be laid for not less than thirty days before the Stale. Legislature as soon at possible after they are made and shall be subject to rescission by the State Legislature or to such modifications as the State Legislature may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following.

 

 

(5)     Any rescission or modifications so made by the State Legislature shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall thereupon take effect."]