K T NIJALINGAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these writ petitions, petitioners are challenging the calendar of events issued by the 3rd respondent on 14.12.2011 vide Annexure-A insofar as it related to the election of the two 'B' Class members to the Managing Committee of the 4th respondent - Society. A direction is also sought declaring that the petitioners having been duly elected to the two 'B' Class category of members of the 4th respondent - Society, there was no need to hold election to the 'B' Class seats. Respondent No. 4 is a Taluka Agriculture Produce Cooperative Marketing Society Limited, Challakere in Chitradurga District. It is a Secondary Co-operative Society comprising of both Primary Agricultural Credit Co-operative Societies in the Taluk consisting of 'A' class members and also individuals who are categorized as 'B' class members. Petitioners fall in the category of 'B' Class members of the 4th respondent - Society. As per the bye-law of the Society, particularly bye-law No. 22, the management of the affairs of the 4th respondent vests in a Committee consisting of 11 members, out of them, 7 members are elected from 'A' class category and 2 members are elected from 'B' class category consisting of individual members. One representative is from the Financing Bank and the other one is the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Chitradurga Sub-Division, Chitradurga. The second category members are holding office as ex-officio members.

(2.) Election to the Committee of the 4th respondent - Society was held in the month of March, 2006 for a term of five years i.e. to say from 2006-07 to 2010-11. The term of the committee came to an end on 31.03.2011. Therefore, the 4th respondent - Society was required to hold election to constitute a new Committee in terms of Section 39-A(2)(b) of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, 1959 (for short, 'the Act'). Accordingly, election was fixed on 21.03.2011 to elect seven members from 'A' class and two members from 'B' class. Calendar of events was published on 12.02.2011 vide Annexure-B.

(3.) Totally 16 members including the two petitioners had filed their nomination papers seeking election for the two seats of 'B' class members. For 'A' class seats, 22 members had filed nominations. At the time of scrutiny of nomination papers, the Returning Officer rejected all the 22 nominations filed for 'A' class category as they did not have the eligibility pertaining to the minimum transaction as fixed by the Government. Therefore, nobody could be elected for the 7 seats of 'A' class category.