SHRIMANT K SAPTASAGARE Vs. ASST COMMR CHIKODI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner Shrimant K. Saptasagare is aggrieved by the order of rejection of his nomination passed by the Returning Officer, Raibag Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane Niyamit, Rai- bag dt. 15-7-1983. He claimed to be a member of the said society which is respondent-2 in these proceedings. it is one of those societies which fall into the class enumerated under rule 14(b) of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Rules, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules')- The sole ground for rejection of his nomination paper is that the petitioner's name was not in the voters list. It is further stated in the order which is at annexure-C to the petition that the Managing Director of the factory had informed by his letter that the Board of Directors of the factory had not confirmed the membership in the second meeting. Aggrieved by the same the petitioner has approached this Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India with a prayer for quashing annexure-B, the calendar of events for election to the Managing Committee of the 2nd respondent-society and also for a mandamus directing the 1st respondent-Returning Officer, to hold fresh election after preparing voters list in accordance with law.

(2.) In other words, as is clear from the second prayer, it is a clear admission by the petitioner that he is not included in the voters list. If he is not a voter, then he cannot contest for election to the Managing Committee of the Society. The difference between the Societies enumerated in sub-rule (b) of rule 14 of the Rules and the other societies is that while in the latter class of societies, the Returning Officer is appointed by the Society itself at the general meeting or earlier, in the case of societies enumerated in sub-rule (b) of rule 14 of the Rules the Returning Officer is appointed by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Karnataka. Clause (2) of sub-rule (b) of rule 14 of the Rules empowers the Returning Officer to perform the duties and functions of his position as Returning Officer in accordance with sub-rule (a) of the said rule and for the purpose of election, he shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the Committee of management and of the general body under the said sub-rule. In other words, the conferment of power on the Returning Officer appointed by the Registrar under sub-rule (b) are the same as those exercised by the Committee of management or general body under sub-rule (a).

(3.) Sri P. R. Ramesh, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner contends otherwise. It is his argument that in order to hold elections, the Returning Officer should prepare a list of eligible members who are eligible to contest for the office of a member of the Managing committee of the society, because he has the powers of the general body and the committee of management conferred upon him and thereafterwards hold the elections. In other words, he accepts the position that on the date he gave notice of his intention to stand as a candidate for election his name was not in the voters' list. His grievance is that he should have been included in the list by the Returning Officer even before the calendar of events is published. Apparently, that claim is based on the resolution No. 6(18) of the committee of the Management of the 2nd respondent- Society dt. 31-12-1982 at which the petitioner, among others was to be admitted as a member of the society. The resolution is to the effect that as requested by the members who have paid the necessary money they should be treated as members. There afterwards, nothing appears to have been done either to include them in the register of members of the society or in the voters' list by the committee of management. If that has not been done, I do not see, as Returning Officer, the 1st respondent acquires power to admit members afresh and then include their names in the voters' list even without an application and then issue calendar of events and conduct the election. A proper understanding of rule 14(b)(2) of the Rules is to restrict the powers of the Returning Officer to such details in conducting election after issuing calendar of events and not in respect of the powers of the Committee of Management or General Body antecedent to the issue of calendar of events.