India, March 5 -- The Bombay High Court (HC) recently ruled that shop purchasers are on par with regular housing society members and that societies cannot discriminate against them.

According to a Times of India report, shopkeepers argued before the HC that they were denied any role in the managing society. They were not allowed to be full members and were instead classified as "mere nominal members" under a consent term with the builder.

After hearing senior advocate Vijay D Patil, who represented the society, the HC emphasized that the legislature's intent is for every individual with ownership rights in a unit to participate in the society's management.

The court further stated that it was "inconceivable that the society permitted t...