JANARDHAN Vs. STATE CO OPERATIVE ELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WP (C) 17820/08 is filed by a member of a Service Cooperative Bank, who, as its delegate, was on the elected committee of the Wayanad District Cooperative Bank, hereinafter, the 'Bank', for short. The State Cooperative Election Commission, the 'Commission', for short, hereinafter, issued notification dated 21/05/2008 for election to the committee of the Bank. That notification is under challenge on the ground that the delimitation of constituencies made in that notification is ultra vires the Bye laws and is, hence, ultra vires the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969, hereinafter, the 'Act', for short and Kerala Cooperative Societies Rules, 1969, hereinafter, the 'Rules', for short.

(2.) Ext. P3 amended Bye laws would show that there are to be 10 members in the Board of Directors, three of whom are Government nominees. Of the remaining 7, one post is reserved for SC / ST, to be elected from among the delegates of the affiliated societies and another seat reserved for a woman from among the delegates of affiliated societies. The remaining 5 are governed by clauses 1(i) and 1(ii) of Bye law No. 25, as evidenced by Ext. P3. Sub clause (ii) of clause 25(1) of the Bye laws provides that two Directors are to be elected from among the delegates of other affiliated societies other than Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, hereinafter, 'PAC Societies', for short. The voting rights of members other than PAC Societies no more survive the amendment of the Act as per Ordinance 62/07, the vires of which was upheld by this Court. Though the rights of Urban Cooperative Banks also seized by that amendment, that is irrelevant for the case in hand, because, there is no Urban Cooperative Bank in Wayanad.

(3.) By the operation of Ordinance 62/07, clause 25(1)(ii) of the Bye law became redundant and contrary to the Act and therefore, the 5 seats had to be distributed within the electoral college. The voting rights thus having confined to PAC Societies, the seats other than those for Government nominees have to be necessarily filled up only by persons who are delegates from the affiliated PAC Societies. It is insufficient that one is merely a delegate of an affiliated society. One has to be the delegate of a society falling within the electoral college.