PRAMOD KUMAR SHROTRIYA Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY the Court.-The petitioners claimed that they are the duly elected members of the Committee of Management of Engineers Evam Karmchari Sahkari Awas Samiti Limited, Aligarh (hereinafter referred to as the 'society') by the Election Officer on 26.11.2010 i.e. the date of withdrawal of nomination papers and a certificate to that effect was also issued on that date under Rule 443(1) of U.P. Cooperative Societies Rules, 1968(hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules, 1968') but by the present impugned order dated 23.2.2011, passed by the Registrar, Housing Cooperative Societies U.P. Lucknow (Housing Commissioner, U.P. Lucknow), a direction has been issued to hold the election afresh, ignoring the fact that once the nomination papers have been filed as per the election programme duly issued by the Election Officer and the petitioners having been declared as members of the Committee of Management unopposed, the election process which was disrupted thereafter can only commence from the stage of disruption and not denovo.

(2.) THE controversy in nutshell is as under: THE society of Engineers Evam Karamchari Sahkari Awas Samiti Limited, Aligarh is a cooperative housing society registered under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act) and it has been constituted with the aim to provide cheap and affordable houses to its members.

(3.) IT is the specific case of the petitioners that on 26.11:2010 after the time for withdrawal of nomination papers had expired, the petitioners were found the only persons to remain in fray from their respective constituencies and their nominations fi were the only valid nominations from their respective constituencies, therefore, the Election Officer in accordance with the Rule 443 of the Rules, 1968 declared the petitioners elected as members of the Committee of Management of the society from their respective constituencies. Besides the petitioners, two other persons were elected unopposed from their respective constituencies.