Can An RWA Ask A Resident To Leave? What Legal Rights Do They Have?

A Residents' Welfare Association (RWA) has courted controversy after it asked Suranya Aiyar, daughter of former Union Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar to move out of the colony.

The Residents' Welfare Association of Delhi's Jangpura Extension suggested Suranya Aiyar to leave the colony after she condemned the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Shri Ram Lalla at Ayodhya Ram Temple in a social media post.

This should serve as a message for everyone, who think abusing Hindu beliefs is par for the course. The Jangpura Extension Welfare Association, in a terse letter, have asked Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter to apologise for defiling the Pran Pratistha ceremony¡­ pic.twitter.com/6eQ0U1AmzW

¡ª Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 31, 2024

RWA asks Mani Shankar Aiyar's daughter to leave

In a letter written by RWA President Kapil Kakkar the association said "In case you still think what you have done in protesting against the consecration (ceremony) of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, we would suggest you to kindly move out to another colony."

However according to legal experts, while RWAs have some legal rights, they don't have the authority to ask any resident to leave or vacate their house.

What is RWA

RWAs are NGOs that are registered under the Societies Registration Act, of 1860.

PEXELS

According to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, an RWA must be constituted in a co-operative housing society within three months of allocating most of the residential units to the respective owners.

To register an RWA, it should have at least 7 individuals as members and should have a president, general secretary, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, finance advisor, and executive members. They are elected for a fixed term.

What rights does RWAs have

RWAs are entitled to form bylaws, especially when it comes to the conduct of its members and collect fees from them.

UNSPLASH

RWAs have often been accused of moral policing and even imposing financial fines on its members for non-compliance with the bylaws.

RWA has the authority to terminate an individual's membership after providing appropriate reasons and grounds.

However, RWAs are not statutory bodies and don¡¯t possess such powers that impact the right of the owner over the property or affect the rights of a person.

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