NARAYAN PATEL Vs. DISTRICT CO OP CENTRAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition, petitioner challenges that election process is given a total go by, by the election officer. He had unduly interfered with the classification of the other societies which is the domain of the registrar. The election officer did not decide the objections as to the voter list on the date fixed. The date fixed was 27.2.2002. The objections were decided on 28.2.2002 and without publication of the final voter list reservation was made on 1.3.2002, whereas the date fixed was 2.3.2002. The document Annexure P-8 is placed on record with respect to reservation which bears the date 1.3.2002. Petitioner filed objections - Annexure P-4, objections were decided on 28.2.2002 as per Annexure P-4, Prima facie, it appears that programme of election has not been properly adhered to by the election officer. However, proviso to clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 64 bars any interference to be made from the date of notification of the election till the election is over. This Court is of the judicial opinion, which is consistently taken that there should be no interference in the writ petition when the remedy of raising the election dispute is available to the petitioner, even with respect to the correctness of voter list of wrong reservation.

(2.) THIS Court has taken the consistent view that election should be allowed to be completed peacefully without any interruption from any forum. In Shiv Narain Pandey v. Satish Tiwari, 1998 RN 178, this Court laid down that no interference should be made by any forum in the process of election.

(3.) IN Shri Sant Sadguru Janardan Swami (Moingiri Maharaj) Sahkari Dugdha Utpadak Sanstha and another v. State of Maharashtra and others, (2001) 8 SCC 509, their lordships held that the preparation of provisional list of voters, filing of objection against the provisional list of voters, consideration of the objection by the Collector and finalising the list of voters, all occur in rules which cover the entire process of the election. The rules framed for election of specified societies are a complete code in itself providing for the entire process of election beginning from the stage of preparation of the provisional voters' list, decision on the objection by the Collector, finalisation of electoral rolls, holding of election and declaration of result of the election. The preparation of the voters' list must be held to be part of the election process for constituting the Managing Committee of a specified co-operative society. The decision was rendered in the context of Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 which appears to be peri materia provision to the M.P. Co-operative Societies Act and Rules. Relevant portion of para 7 is quoted below :- ' 'In the light of the aforestated provisions of Chapter XI-A of the Act and the Rules, we will examine as to whether preparation of electoral rolls is an intermediate stage in the process of election. The provisions referred to above show that Chapter XI-A was enacted and the rules were framed specially to deal with the election of the specified societies under section 73-G of the Act. Section 144-X provides that various stages of election shall also include preparation of the list of voters. Once the statute provides that the preparation of the voters list shall be part of the election process, there is no reason to hold that the preparation of the electoral roll is not an intermediate stage in the process of the election of a specified society. This matter can be examined from another angle. A perusal of the rules discloses that the preparation of provisional list of voters, filing of objection against the provisional list of voters, consideration of the objection by the Collector and finalising the list of voters, all occur in the rules which cover the entire process of the election. The Rules framed for election of specified societies are a complete code in itself providing for the entire process of election beginning from the stage of preparation of the provisional voters' list, decision on the objection by the Collector, finalisation of electoral rolls, holding of election and declaration of result of the election. In view of the scheme of the Act and the Rules, the preparation of voters' list must be held to be part of the election process for constituting the Managing Committee of a specified society."