Can a housing society refuse to allow me to sell my flat to a chosen buyer?

A housing society generally cannot arbitrarily refuse to grant a transfer NOC or otherwise block a legitimate sale to a buyer of your choosing, as long as you've complied with the society's own reasonable bye-laws regarding transfer procedure (such as clearing outstanding dues and submitting the required documents).

Societies sometimes cite reasons like pending maintenance dues, incomplete paperwork, or internal disputes as grounds for delay — some of these may be legitimate (such as genuinely outstanding dues you need to clear first), but an outright, unjustified refusal to process a compliant transfer is generally not something the society is entitled to do.

If you believe the society is acting unreasonably or beyond its authority, you can raise the matter with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, or pursue it through the cooperative dispute resolution mechanism applicable in your state. It would help to first clearly identify, in writing, exactly what the society is citing as the reason for delay, so your lawyer can assess whether it's a legitimate compliance issue or an unjustified obstruction.