(1) A body which has been registered as a branch of a society shall not be registered as a society except on production to the Registrar of a certificate, under the hand of the chief secretary or other principal officer of the society of which it was a branch, that the body has wholly seceded or has been expelled from the society.
(2) An appeal shall lie from the refusal of the chief secretary or other principal officer of the society, or his or her omission, after 3 months from the receipt of a request in writing made on behalf of the body to grant a certificate, to a judge of the High Court sitting in chambers.