Societies Registration Act, 1860

This 1860 Act allows groups of people to formally register as a "society" for literary, scientific, charitable or similar non-profit purposes, giving the society legal recognition. Section 1 lets any seven or more people associated for a literary, scientific or charitable purpose register by filing a memorandum of association with the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies. Section 2 sets out what the memorandum must contain: the society's name, its objects, and the names, addresses and occupations of its governing body. Section 3 requires a registration fee (originally fifty rupees, or a lesser amount the Provincial Government may set).

Section 5 provides that a registered society's property is deemed vested in its governing body, and Sections 6–8 let the society sue and be sued in the name of its president, chairman, secretary or trustees, with any judgment enforced against the society's property rather than the individual officer personally. Section 9 lets a society recover penalties for breach of its own bye-laws through the courts, and Sections 10–11 make members personally liable — as if they were strangers to the society — for unpaid subscriptions, damage to society property, or offences like theft or forgery against the society.

Sections 12–14 govern changing a society's purposes, dissolving it, and distributing any leftover property after dissolution: any such changes need approval by three-fifths of members at properly convened meetings, and Section 14 requires that leftover property after dissolution go to another society rather than be distributed to members personally (this does not apply to joint-stock companies). Section 15 defines who counts as a "member" and disqualifies anyone whose subscription is more than three months in arrears from voting.

A significant recent addition, Section 21 (added in 2024 and amended in 2025), specifically requires every "Deeni Madrasa" (religious seminary) to register either under this Act or directly with the Directorate General of Religious Education, within set timeframes for existing and newly-established madaris. It bars madaris from teaching material that promotes militancy, sectarianism or religious hatred, while protecting genuine comparative religious study, and requires annual educational reports and audited accounts to be submitted to the Registrar. Given the Act's age and the very recent 2024–2025 amendments specific to madrasa registration, readers should check the current official text for the latest registration deadlines and requirements.