P KOTYA Vs. STATE OF TELANGANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is filed seeking a Writ of mandamus declaring the order dated 18 -10 -2014 issued by the 2nd respondent as arbitrary, illegal and violative of principles of natural justice, to set aside the same and to further direct the respondents 2 to 5 to include the names of the petitioners in the Voters List in respect of the 4th respondent -Fishermen Cooperative Society before conducting elections.

(2.) THE petitioners are tribals and fishermen by profession. They are the members of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, Cheruvumadaram in Khammam district. The 4th respondent herein issued proceedings dated 29 -11 -2012 deleting the names of the petitioners from the Voters List while issuing a Notification to conduct elections to the 4th respondent -Society on the ground that they have not remitted the enhanced share capital amount of Rs.50/ - as required under Rule 18 of the Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Societies Rules, 1964 (the APCS Rules, for short) and also as per the orders issued by the Commissioner of Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, dated 04 -8 -2003. Aggrieved by the deletion of the names from the Voters List published by the 4th respondent -Society, the petitioners and some others filed Writ Petition No.37509 of 2012 and learned single Judge of this Court stayed the election by order dated 05 -12 -2012. Ultimately, the said writ petition was dismissed on the ground that the petitioners have not paid the enhanced share capital amount of Rs.50/ - per member and therefore, they are not eligible to vote in the election. The learned single Judge while dismissing the writ petition observed that however, subsequent to the Election Notification, the petitioners paid the enhanced share capital on 30 -3 -2013.

(3.) THEREAFTER , the impugned order dated 18 -10 -2014 was passed by the 2nd respondent directing the 5th respondent to complete the process of election in accordance with the procedure as contemplated under Rule 22 of the APCS Rules. The said order indicated that the elections have to be recommenced from the stage at which they were stopped and the election was to be held on 30 -10 -2014 on the basis of the earlier Voters List dated 29 -10 -2012 whereunder the names of the petitioners were deleted on the ground of non -payment of additional share capital amount of Rs.50/ -. It is submitted by the petitioners that this Court while dismissing the earlier writ petition had not issued any direction to the authorities to conduct election from the stage where it was stopped and recorded the factum of payment of additional share capital amount on 30 -3 -2013 by the members. Therefore, the version of the petitioners is that the 2nd respondent ought to have issued fresh Election Notification after preparing the Voters List by including the names of the petitioners since they have complied with the objection by paying the balance share capital amount on 30 -3 -2013. The contention of the petitioners is that the earlier Voters List was published on 29 -11 -2014, the writ petition was dismissed on 20 -11 -2013 and after the lapse of nearly one year and 11 months, if the elections are held basing on the old Voters List, their right to participate in the election is affected and therefore, the impugned order is illegal, which is liable to be set aside in the present writ petition. It is further contended that the respondents after dismissing the writ petition on 20 -11 -2013 did not take any steps for so many months and issued the impugned order proposing to conduct election basing on the old Voters List which is impermissible in law. Thus, they filed the present writ petition to set aside the impugned order dated 18 -10 -2014 and to conduct election to the Society only after including the names of the petitioners in the Voters List.