KUSUMTAI W/O SUDHAKAR SAPKAL Vs. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Heard forthwith by consent of learned counsel for the rival parties. All these petitions are being disposed of by this common judgment since common question is involved in all these petitions.

(2.) In an election to the managing committee of primary co-operative society, namely respondent no.3, Kasampur Seva Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit, all the petitioners had filed their nomination forms along with an appended document there with a declaration that none of the petitioners were having more than two children on the cut-off date, i.e. 7.9.2001. The nomination forms of all the petitioners were rejected by the Returning Officer on the ground that the declaration appended with the nomination form regarding number of children did not had the court-fee stamp of Rs.10/-. Appeals were preferred by all the petitioners before the appellate authority, who held that the declaration form given along with the nomination form itself indicates that the court-fee stamp of Rs.10/- was required to be affixed on the affidavit and, therefore, all the appeals were dismissed. Hence, these writ petitions.

(3.) Mr.Gordey, learned counsel for the petitioners in all the writ petitions, argued that there is no rule prescribing any particular format of affidavit for payment of court-fee of Rs.10/- and in absence thereof the rule requiring filing of affidavit or affixing court-fee stamp of Rs.10/-, the impugned orders are illegal. He further argued that relevant section, namely Section 73FF(1)(vii) of The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (for short the Act), also does not speak of such affidavit being filed along with the nomination papers. The only reason recorded by the Returning Officer is non-fixing of Court-fee stamp of Rs.10/- and that is not a defect of substantiate character, and hence the nomination forms of all the petitioners ought to have been accepted.