By The Hindu Bureau

Copyright thehindu

The Kerala Societies Registration Bill, 2025, which envisions a single Statewide law for societies and seeks to bring in transparency and accountability in their functioning, was presented in the State Assembly on Tuesday.

Through this important Bill, the State government seeks to enact a law that replaces the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (No. 21), applicable to the old Malabar region, and the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1955 (Act XII of 1955), applicable to the old Travancore-Cochin region.

Presenting the Bill in the Assembly, Minister for Registration Kadannapally Ramachandran observed that the two old Acts go back to the days before the State of Kerala was formed and contained dissimilar provisions. This gives rise to administrative issues due to a situation where different laws are applicable to different taluks in the same district. Moreover, no rules have been framed for the Acts to date, which is another major drawback, he said.

Stating that a ‘‘historic mission” has been undertaken through the presentation of the Bill, Mr. Ramachandran said the existing Acts had deficiencies in handling unlawful activities and financial mismanagement. Through the unified law, the government envisages transparency in the functioning of societies, timely changes in the law, and effective provisions for holding investigations into complaints and addressing shortcomings. The Bill also provides for appeals at the levels of the Inspection General of Registration (IGR) and the State government.

“Although most of the registered societies’ function is properly run in an institutionalised manner, there are several that have not renewed their registration by filing returns. There are also complaints regarding the activities of some of these paper societies,” he said.

Some of the well-known institutions in Kerala have been registered under the two old Acts. Institutions outside the ambit of the Cooperative Societies Act function under these two laws at present.

In his speech, Mr. Ramachandran named several which include the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Technopark, Trivandrum Club, Sri Mulam Club, Nirmiti Kendra, Press Clubs, Santhigiri Ashram, Bar Associations, Kerala Cricket Association, Information Kerala Mission, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), Kerala Sahitya Akademi, and the Malabar Cancer Centre.

Existing societies will continue to be valid under the proposed law. On the technical side, the Kerala Societies Registration Bill, 2025 has 45 sections.

The Bill has been referred to the Subject Committee.

At present, the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (No. 21) applies to the old Malabar region consisting of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, regions other than Nenmara and Chittur in Palakkad district, Chavakkad taluk in Thrissur district, and Fort Kochi in Ernakulam. The Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1955 (Act XII of 1955) applies to the regions of present-day Kerala.