THE SOCIETIES REGISTRATION ACT, 1860
(Act XXI of 1860)
COMPILED:MIAN ASHRAF ASMI ADVOCATE HIGH COURT
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CONTENTS
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SECTIONS
1. Societies formed by memorandum of
association and registration.
2. Memorandum of association.
3. Registration fee.
4. Annual list of managing body to be
filed.
5. Property of society how vested.
6. Suits by and against societies.
7. Suits not to abate.
8. Enforcement of judgment against
society.
9. Recovery of penalty accruing under
bye-law.
10. Members liable to be sued as strangers
Recovery by successful defendant of
costs adjudged.
11. Members guilty of offences punishable
as strangers.
12. Societies enabled to alter, extend or
abridge their purposes.
13. Provision for dissolution of societies
and adjustment of their affairs
Assent required
Government consent.
14. Upon a dissolution no member to
receive profit
Clause not to apply to joint-stock
companies.
15. Member defined − Disqualified members.
16. Governing body defined.
16-A. Supersession of governing body of a
society.
17. Registration of societies formed
before Act − Assent required.
18. Such societies to file memorandum,
etc., with Registrar of Joint-stock Companies.
19. Inspection of documents − Certified
copies
20. To what societies Act applies.
21. Registration of Deeni Madrassah.
(Act XXI of 1860)
[21 May 1860]
An Act for the Registration of Literary,
Scientific and Charitable Societies
Preamble.− WHEREAS it is expedient that 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, [3][the diffusion of political education]
or for charitable purposes; it is enacted as follows:-
1. Societies formed by memorandum of
association and 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 the Registrar of Joint-stock
Companies [4][* * *] form themselves into a society
under this Act.
2. Memorandum
of association.− The
memorandum of association shall contain the following things (that is to say)−
the name of the society:
the objects 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.
[5][3. Registration fee.− 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 such fee as the Provincial Government may direct, and all
fees so paid shall be accounted for to the Provincial Government.]
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.
5. 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 by their
proper title.
6. Suits
by and against societies.− Every society registered under this Act may sue or be sued in the name
of the 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 to the governing body some other officer or person be not nominated
to be the defendant.
7. Suits
not to abate.− No suit or
proceeding in any Civil Court shall abate or discontinue by reason of the
person by or against whom such suit or proceedings shall have been brought or
continued, dying or ceasing to fill the character in the name whereof he shall
have sued or been sued, but the same suit or proceedings shall be continued in
the name of or against the successor of such person.
8. 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 judgment, 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 judgment enforced against the
property of the society.
9. 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-law 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.
10. Members
liable to be sued as strangers – Recovery by successful defendant of costs
adjudged.− 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 property in the manner hereinbefore provided.
But if the defendant shall be
successful in any suit or other proceeding brought against him at the instance
of the society, and shall be adjudged to recover his costs, he may elect to
proceed to recover the same from the officer in whose name the suit shall be
brought, or from the society, and in the latter case shall have process against
the property of the said society in the manner above described.
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 willfully 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.
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.
13. Provision for dissolution of societies
and adjustment of their affairs − Assent required − Government consent.− 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:
Provided that no society shall be
dissolved unless three-fifths of the members shall have expressed a wish for
such dissolution by their votes delivered in person, or by proxy, at a general
meeting convened for the purpose:
Provided that [6][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 [7][without the consent of the Government
of the Province of registration].
14. Upon
a dissolution no member to receive profit − Clause not to apply to joint-stock
companies.− 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 dissolution, or in default thereof, by such Court as aforesaid:
Provided, however, that this clause
shall not apply to any society which shall have been founded or established by
the contributions of shareholders in the nature of a Joint-stock Company.
15. Member defined − Disqualified
members.− 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; but in all proceedings under this Act no person shall be
entitled to vote or to be counted as a member whose subscription at the time
shall have been in arrear for a period exceeding three months.
16. 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.
[8][16-A. Supersession
of governing body of a society.− (1)
Notwithstanding anything contained in the memorandum of association, rules or
regulations of a society registered under this Act, if, after such inquiry as
may be necessary, the Provincial Government is of the opinion that the
governing body of the society−
(a) is unable to discharge or persistently
fails in discharging its duties, or
(b) is unable to administer its affairs or
meet its financial obligations, or
(c) generally acts in a manner contrary to
public interest or the interests of the members of the society,
the Provincial Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, declare the governing body to be superseded for such period,
not exceeding one year, as may be specified in the notification.
[9][Provided
that the declaration shall not be made without giving to the society to be
affected thereby an opportunity of being heard.]
(2) On the publication of a notification
under sub-section (1),−
(a) the office-bearers and other members
of the governing body shall cease to hold office; and
(b) all functions of the governing body
shall, during the period of supersession, be performed by a governing body
constituted by the Provincial Government from among the members of the society.
(3) On the expiry of the period of
supersession, the governing body of the society shall be reconstituted in
accordance with its memorandum of association, rules and regulations.]
17. Registration of societies formed
before Act − Assent required.− Any company or society established
for a literary, scientific or charitable purpose, and registered under [10]Act XLIII of 1850, or any such
society established and constituted previously to the passing of this Act but
not registered under the said [11]Act XLIII of 1850, may at any time
hereafter be registered as a society under this Act; 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 [12]Act
XLIII of 1850, the directors shall be deemed to be such governing body.
In the case of a society not so
registered, if no such body shall have been constituted on the establishment of
the society, it shall be competent for the members thereof, upon due notice, to
create for itself a governing body to act for the society thenceforth.
18. Such
societies to file memorandum, etc., with Registrar of Joint-Stock Companies.− In order to any such society as is mentioned in the last
preceding section obtaining registry under this Act, it shall be sufficient
that the governing body file with the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies [13][*
* *] 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 as provided in
section 2, and a copy of the report of the proceedings of the general meeting
at which the registration was resolved on.
19. Inspection
of documents − Certified Copies.− 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.
20. To
what societies Act applies.− The following
societies may be registered under this Act:-
Charitable societies, [14][* * *] 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 painting and other works of art, collections of natural history,
mechanical and philosophical inventions, instruments, or designs.
[16][21. Registration
of Deeni Madaris.– (1) All Deeni Madaris, by
whatsoever name called, shall not operate without getting themselves registered:
Provided that the Deeni Madaris, which
are established after the commencement of this Act, shall get themselves
registered within one year of their establishment.
Explanation. One Deeni Madrassah, having more than one campus, shall
need only one registration.
(2) Every Deeni Madrassah shall submit
annual report of its educational activities to the Registrar.
(3) Every Deeni Madrassah shall cause to
be carried out audit of its accounts by an auditor and submit a copy of its
audit report to the Registrar.
(4) No Deeni Madrassah shall teach or
publish any literature which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or
religious hatred:
Provided that nothing contained herein
shall bar the comparative study of various religions or schools of thought or
the study of any other subject covered by the Holy Quran, Sunnah or the Islamic
jurisprudence.
Explanation. In this section “Deeni Madrassah” means a religious
institution and includes a Jamia, Dar-ul-Uloom, School, College, University or
called by any other name, established or operated primarily for the purposes of
imparting religious education, which provides boarding and lodging facilities.]
The Act (with the exception of the first four sections) is based
on Literary and Scientific Institutions Act, 1854.
It had been declared to be in force in
all the Provinces and the Capital of the Federation, except the Scheduled
Districts, by s. 3 of the Laws Local Extent Act, 1874 (15 of 1874).
It had
been declared by Notification under s. 3 (a) of the Scheduled Districts Act,
1874 (14 of 1874), to be in force in the Scheduled Districts; namely − Hazara, Peshawar,
Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. [Portions of the
Districts of Hazara, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan and the
Districts of Peshawar and
Kohat now form the N.W.F.P., see Gazette
of India,
1901, Pt. I, p. 867, and
ibid., 1902, Pt. I, p.575].
[6]Substituted by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order,
1937, as amended by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws)
Supplementary Order, 1937 for “whenever the Government.”
[8]Added by the Societies Registration (West
Pakistan Amendment) Ordinance, 1962 (IX of 1962), and substituted by the
Conformity with Fundamental Rights (Punjab Amendment of Laws) Act, 1976 (IX of
1976).
[14]The words “the
military orphan funds or societies established at the several presidencies of India”
omitted by the Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949 (G.G.O. 4
of 1949).
[16]Inserted by the Societies Registration
(Amendment) Act 2005 (XIII of 2005) and substituted by the Societies
Registration (Amendment) Act 2006 (VII of 2006).
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