RAJU JOHN Vs. ASST. REGISTRAR OF COOP. SOCIETIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is an employee of the Thopramkudi Pepper Processing and Marketing Society Ltd., for short 'The Society', having its office within the jurisdiction of Udumbanchola Circle Cooperative Union. The election to this circle cooperative union, going by the Notification issued in that regard, was scheduled to be held on 21-10-1990. The names of the employees of this society who had been included in the provisional voters' list however were deleted while preparing the final voters' list on the ground that the society failed to renew its affiliation to the Circle Cooperative Union.

(2.) Having come to know of this, the petitioner has moved this O. P. for the following reliefs: -

(3.) It is necessary at this stage to state the law governing the election to the Circle Cooperative Union and the right of the parties to exercise their franchise. A reference in this connection to S.88 of the Cooperative Societies Act and R.126 of the Cooperative Societies Rules is relevant. S.88 (1) provides that each Circle Cooperative Union shall have 13 members made up of in the following manner: nine members elected by the committees of the societies within the circle, one member elected by the Board of Directors of the District Cooperative Bank having jurisdiction over the circle, two members elected by the employees of cooperative societies within the circle and the senior most Inspector of Cooperative Societies in the circle. Of these 13 members, the seniormost Inspector of Cooperative Societies in the circle will be ex officio member. Sub-s.2 of S.88 says that a circle cooperative union is bound to elect one of the members, other than the ex officio member, to be its chairman and the ex officio member shall be its Secretary (vide sub-s.3 of S.88). The employees of the cooperative societies within the circle therefore have the right to elect two members.