GAGANGIRI VIVIDH KARYAKARI SAHAKARI (VIKAS) SEVA SANSTHA MARYADIT AND ORS. Vs. DISTRICT CO-OPERATIVE ELECTION OFFICER (KOLHAPUR DISTRICT CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD.) AND DIVISIONAL JOINT REGISTRAR CO-OP. SOCIETIES AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above Writ Petitions take exception to the order dated 23-3-2015 passed by the District Co-operative Election Officer and the Divisional Joint Registrar Co-operative Societies, Kolhapur by which order the Objection Applications being Nos. 74 to 91 filed by the petitioners herein came to be rejected. The petitioner Nos. 1 and 3 herein are the Co-operative Societies and the petitioner Nos. 2 and 4 are the representatives of the petitioner Nos. 1 and 3. The petitioners have taken objection to the inclusion of the name of the respondent No. 3-Society in each of the above Petitions in the provisional list of voters for elections to the Board of Directors to the respondent No. 2-The Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank Limited (for short KDCC Bank). The respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petitions is a member of the respondent No. 2-KDCC Bank and has to send its representative for participating in the elections to the Board of Directors of the respondent No. 2-KDCC Bank. The provisional list of voters which has been published as per the 1st phase of the election programme comprises of the name of the respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petitions. The petitioners objected to the names of the respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petitions being included in the provisional list of voters on the ground that the respondent No. 3 was a defaulter as contemplated by section 73-CA(1) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act (hereinafter referred to as "the said Act") and was therefore not entitled to participate in the elections that were to be held to the Board of Directors of the respondent No. 2-KDCC Bank, on a conjoint reading of section 27(10) and section 73-CA (1) of the said Act. The sum and substance of the objection of the petitioners was on the touchstone of section 73-CA(1)(f) of the said Act on the ground that the respondent No. 3 in each of the above Petitions was a defaulter insofar as the respondent No. 2-KDCC Bank is concerned and is therefore not entitled for its name being included in the provisional list of voters.

(2.) The said objection was overruled by the District Co-operative Election Officer on the ground that the respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petition is classified as a "Resource Society" and sub-classified as "Service Resource Society". The District Co-operative Election Officer also placed reliance on the Circular dated 14-1-2015 in the matter of conduct of elections to the District Central Co-operative Banks. This is the sum and substance of the order that has been passed overruling the objection of the petitioners to the inclusion of the names of the respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petitions in the provisional list of voters. As indicated above, it is the said order dated 23-3-2015 which is taken exception to by way of the above Petitions.

(3.) The principal contention of the learned Senior Counsel Shri Y.S. Jahagirdar appearing for the petitioners is that in clause (f) of section 73-CA(1) of the said Act the only exception carved out is in respect of Primary Agricultural Credit Co-operative Society (for short PACCS) and it is only to the said Society i.e. PACCS that the rigors of section 73-CA(1) would not apply and that such Society would be entitled to participate in the elections. As per the guidelines, the said participation would be on the basis that instead of a person on the Board of Directors, a member who is not a defaulter is required to be sent as a delegate. The learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners would contend that the respondent No. 3 to each of the above Petitions is admittedly not a PACCS but is a Multipurpose Co-operative Society and is therefore not entitled to the exemption as contemplated by clause (f) of section 73-CA(1) of the said Act. The learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners would contend that the District Co-operative Election Officer by including the name of the respondent No. 3 in each of the above Petitions in the provisional list of voters and by overruling the objection of the petitioners has virtually added to the provision a category which is not covered by the said provision.