KANUBHA GULABSINH PARMAR Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) What is challenged in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is the order dated 19th March 2008 passed by the Deputy Collector, Surendranagar and Election Officer, Surendranagar District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. (respondent No.3 herein), by which the objections lodged by the petitioner against inclusion of 54 cooperative societies (respondents No.5 to 58 herein) in the provisional list of voters came to be rejected. The petitioner has also prayed for a direction to the Election Officer to delete the names of said respondent societies from the final list of voters of non -farm sector constituency of Surendranagar District Cooperative Bank Ltd. which was published on 1st April 2008.

(2.) The gravamen of the challenge to inclusion of the said respondent societies in the final voters' list is that all these cooperative societies were enrolled as members of Surendranagar District Cooperative Bank Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Bank" for short) after supersession of the elected managing committee and during the period when the administrator appointed by the Registrar, Cooperative Societies was exercising the powers and functions of the elected managing committee. It is vehemently submitted by Mr.Mangukia for the petitioner that the Apex Court, in K.Shantharaj and another v. M.L.Nagaraj and others, (1997) 6 SCC 37 and Jt. Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Kerala v. T.A. Kuttappan and others, (2000) 6 SCC 127, has held that the administrator appointed upon the supersession of the elected managing committee of a cooperative society has no power to enroll new members, and that the elections must be held on the basis of the role of members which was available prior to supersession of the committee.

(3.) The Surendranagar District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. is a specified cooperative society as provided under Section 74C of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act" for short). The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Gujarat State issued show cause notice to the Bank on 4th May 2006, calling upon the Bank to show cause as to why the managing committee of the Bank should not be superseded under Section 81 of the Act. The present petitioner, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Bank, submitted reply on 4th and 25th July, 2006. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Gujarat State passed order dated 26th July 2006 superseding the managing committee and appointing the District Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Surendranagar District as the Administrator under Section 81(2) of the Act. The said order was not challenged by the Bank, but was challenged by the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Ltd. on the ground that the State Cooperative Bank was not consulted, as required under Section 81(6) of the Act. The said petition came to be allowed by a learned Single Judge of this Court by judgment dated 19th December 2007 and the order of the State Registrar was quashed only on the ground of non -compliance with Section 81(6) of the Act. However, by the time the said petition came to be allowed, the statutory term of the elected body under the chairmanship of the present petitioner was over and the State Registrar of Cooperative Societies passed an order dated 20th December 2007 under Section 74D of the Act appointing the District Registrar, Surendranagar as the custodian. That order came to be challenged before this Court by the present petitioner by way of Special Civil Application No.114 of 2008. In that petition, a consensus formula was evolved and instead of District Registrar, the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Ltd. was appointed as the custodian. The Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Ltd., accordingly took over as the custodian of the Surendranagar District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. on 11th April 2008.