SA RA GOVINDU Vs. GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are before this Court calling in question order dtd. 8/7/2022 passed by the 2nd respondent/Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies and District Registrar of Societies ('the District Registrar' for short) and have sought several directions by issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus.

(2.) Heard Sri G.V.Chandrashekar, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners; Smt. Rashmi Patel, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondents 1 and 2; Sri Pawan Shyam, learned counsel for respondent No.3; Sri K.V. Dhananjay, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.4; Sri Sudarshan Suresh, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.5; Sri Sushanth V.A ., learned counsel appearing for respondents 6 to 9, 11 and 12 and Sri E.P. Raghavendra, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.10.

(3.) Shorn of unnecessary details, the core facts required are as follows: The 4th respondent is the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce ('Film Chamber' for short). Elections to the said Film Chamber were to be conducted on 28/5/2022 for the tenure of 2022-23. The 1st petitioner was a contestant to the post of President in the Producers Sector and the 2nd petitioner was a contestant to the post of Treasurer and the 3rd petitioner was a contestant for the post of Secretary. The elections were held on 28/5/2022. The petitioners alleging that the conduct of election was illegal, improper and seeped in fraud on various grounds had registered a complaint before the 2nd respondent/District Registrar. The allegations, inter alia, included fraud played by the Returning Officer. This comes to be rejected by the 2nd respondent in terms of his order dtd. 8/7/2022 and rejection of the said complaint of the petitioners and consequent continuation of the newly elected committee drove the petitioners to this Court in the subject petition. The petitioners have also sought at the hands of this Court by way of a writ in the nature mandamus to declare the elections held to be illegal and void with a consequent direction to conduct fresh elections to the Film Chamber.