Societies Registration Act, 1860 · Preamble
Section 17: Registration of societies formed before Act
Any company or society established for a literary, scientific, or charitable purpose, and registered under 1Act 43 of 1850, or any such society established and constituted previously to the passing of this Act but not registered under the said 1Act 43 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 1Act 43 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.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 17
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.