ARJUN SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND & OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner was elected to the general body of the Cooperative Society. The general body of the Cooperative Society had to elect its Committee of Management and thereafter the Committee of Management had to elect the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and delegates to the higher level society, for which the elections had to take place on 22.07.2018 and 23.07.2018 respectively. The schedules notified for the elections were as follow:-

(2.) However, as per the report dated 15.7.2018 of the Election Officer, on 15.7.2018, the date on which the scrutiny of the nomination papers was to be made and objections to the same had to be disposed of and the list of valid nomination papers had to be displayed, some anti-social elements entered in the office of the Election Officer and created uproar there and disrupted the proceedings and posed serious threat to the peace and law and order situation and, therefore, the Election Officer, felt himself unable to go ahead with the further election schedule and postponed the elections. The said report of the Election Officer produced before this Court today is made part of the record as Annexure 'A' to the writ petition. Aggrieved with the postponement of elections, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition before this Court.

(3.) The cooperative societies now find a place in the Constitution of India in Part IXB by way of 97th Constitutional amendment. The election of members of the board and the term of the members of the cooperative societies are given in the Constitution itself in Article 243ZK of the Constitution of India. Article 243ZK of the Constitution of India reads as under:-