Penalty for pot plants in grilled balcony

You may challenge  the resolution adopted in AGM through a local lawyer, if you find it illegal.

Your queries are as follows:

Also what if I decide not to pay the fine? Will i be charged interest on penalty? Do i have to pay penalty within a particular time frame? I am paying my monthly maintenance on time.
 

Communicate your protest to society and seek such information from them as you are the member and have every right to get information and for protest.

You can also seek the information from Registrar of Societies about such resolutions in General Body meeting and the authority of the EC members for collecting such penalty.
 

You should have raised your objection when the resolution was passed in the AGM, as the members have to honour the resolutions passed at the AGM. However the penalty levied is not commensurate with the degree of fault hence not viable. You can request the Managing Committee leniency in this instance. It will be advisable to remove the plants from your balconey. You can always propose deletion of this resolution in the next AGM, as resolutions passed in one AGM can be deleted/altered after six months.

Thank you for the response. Request you to please answer my other queries.

Can you challenge the penalty amount passed in AGM? Also what if I decide not to pay the penalty? Will i be charged interest on penalty? Do i have to pay penalty within a particular time frame? From what i have read the max penalty is 5000 in a financial year. Please update.
 

You can challenge the penalty amount if it is not commensurate with the degree of the fault and if it has not caused any damage to the society 

The decision of the AGM interfere with the ordinary rights of the citizens and also entails the deprivation of their property without resorting to the due process of law. The AGM is not a law making body. It could  have taken such a  decision  only if duly authorised by a legislative enactment. It is unlikely that the the law governing of the Society would have such a provision. Please verify.

In a co-operative housing society the property is owned by the society and not by a single member, there are certain rules enacted by the state government for smooth operation of the society and certain powers are granted to the General body of the society to form rules with the consent of the majority of the members for this purpose, no such rules so enacted can be violative of the laws of the cooperative housing society. Here the flats are not absolutely owned by the members, the property belongs to the society and the members are allotted the residences by virtue of them being the members of the society. The question of interfering with the rights of the members does not arise as an individual member is not the owner in the real sense of ownership. The members own the society jointly and the decision of majority of members have to be honoured. The resolution passed at an AGM can always be overturned after six months of passing or at the next AGM by creating a majority of votes. This is absolutely democratic.

With due respect it is stated that the propositions, "In a co-operative housing society the property is owned by the society and not by a single member", "Here the flats are not absolutely owned by the members, the property belongs to the society and the members are allotted the residences by virtue of them being the members of the society. The question of interfering with the rights of the members does not arise as an individual member is not the owner in the real sense of ownership. The members own the society jointly and the decision of majority of members have to be honoured."  are propositions unknown to law.

Moreover, it has been held by the Bombay High Court in that:

 "The general body cannot pass arbitrary and unreasonable resolutions merely because it is supreme and it has a large majority in favour of any issue on the agenda."Venus Co-operative Housing Society Ltd. v. Dr. J.Y. Detwani"