(1) No society shall without sufficient cause, refuse admission to membership to any person duly qualified therefor under the provisions of this Act and its by-laws.
7[(1A) Where a society refuses to accept the application from an eligible person for admission as a member, or the payment made by him in respect of membership, such person may tender an application in such form as may be prescribed together with payment in respect of membership, if any, to the Registrar, who shall forward the application and the amount, if any so paid, to the society concerned within thirty days from the date of receipt of such application and the amount ; and thereupon if the society fails to communicate any decision to the applicant within sixty days from the date of receipt of such application and the amount by the society, the applicant shall be deemed to have become a member of such society. 8[If any question arises whether a person has become a deemed member or otherwise, 1 Sub-section (1A) was inserted by Mah. 27 of 1969, s. 7(b).
2 This portion was substituted for the words “as the case may be” by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 12(a).
3 Sub-section (1B) was inserted by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 12(b).
4 These words were substituted for the words “from the date of the application for admission,— whichever is earlier” by Mah. 27 of 1969, s. 7(c).
5 This word was substituted for the words “refused admission” by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 12(c) 6 These words were added by Mah. 7 of 1997, s. 3.
7 Sub-section (1A) was inserted by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 13(a).
8 These words were added by Mah. 7 of 1997, s. 4.
1961 : Mah. XXIV] The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 31 the same shall be decided by the Registrar after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to all the concerned parties.]]
(2) Any person aggrieved by the decision of a society, refusing him admission to its membership, may appeal to the Registrar 1[, within a period of sixty days from the date of the decision of the society].
2[Every such appeal, as far as possible, be disposed of by the Registrar within a period of three months from the date of its receipt :
Provided that, where such appeal is not so disposed of within the said period of three months, the Registrar shall record the reasons for the delay.]
(3) The decision of the Registrar in appeal, shall be final and the Registrar shall communicate his decision to the parties within fifteen days from the date thereof.
3[(4) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, in the case of agro-processing societies or any other society for which a definite zone or an area of operation is allotted by the State Government or the Registrar, it shall be obligatory on the part of such society to admit, on an application made to it, every eligible person from that zone or the area of operation, as the case may be, as a member of such society, unless such person is already registered as a member of any other such society, in the same zone or the area of operation.]
24. 4[Nominal and associate member.]— (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 22, a society may admit any person as a 5[nominal or associate member].
(2) A nominal member 6[* *] shall not be entitled to any share in any form whatsoever in the profits or assets of the society as such member. A nominal 7[* *] member shall ordinarily not have any of the privileges and rights of a member, but such a member, or an associate member, may, subject to the provisions of sub-section (8) of section 27, have such privileges and rights and be subject to such liabilities, of a member, as may be specified in the by-laws of the society.