INDERJEET SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, being a member of the Mundi Primary Agriculture Co-operative Society Limited, Village Mundi respondent No.5 (hereinafter referred to as 'the respondent Society'), contested the elections of the Managing Committee of the respondent Society held on 3.10.2007, against the seat meant for agriculturist category. The Managing Committee of the respondent Society consists of 7 members. As per clause 34 of its Bye laws, out of the 7 elected members of the Managing Committee, 5 will be agriculturist members and 2 will be non-agriculturist members. Further, as per the first proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 28 of the Haryana Co-operative Societies Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), at least one member should be from the Scheduled Caste category and one from women. 16 candidates contested the elections as agriculturists. 3 women and 2 candidates from the Scheduled Caste category also contested the elections.

(2.) AFTER the elections, the Returning Officer declared 5 candidates, namely Ramphal (226 votes), Raj Kumar (191 votes), Vijay Singh (189 votes), Shamsher Singh (182 votes) and Inderjeet Singh petitioner herein (141 votes), elected from the category of agriculturists. Smt. Santosh Devi, who had secured 253 votes, was declared elected from the category of women and another woman, namely Smt. Shakuntla respondent No.7 herein, was declared defeated, though she secured 223 votes. Abhay Singh, who secured 59 votes, was declared elected from the category of Scheduled Caste.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner contested the election against 5 seats, meant for the agriculturists, and respondent No.7 contested the election in the category of women. She belongs to the category of non-agriculturists. Therefore, the Returning Officer has rightly considered her candidature against the one seat, which was to be filled up by a woman from the category of non-agriculturists. The contention of the learned counsel is that 2 seats, meant for nonagriculturists, are to be filled up by a Scheduled Caste and a woman. Therefore, one Smt. Santosh Devi, who had secured 253 votes, was declared elected in the category of the non-agriculturist women and one Abhay Singh, a Scheduled Caste candidate, who secured 59 votes, was declared elected against another seat in the category of non-agriculturists. The whole argument of learned counsel for the petitioner is that as far as 5 seats, meant for agriculturists, are concerned, those are to be filled up from the candidates belonging to the said category and the remaining 2 seats, which are meant for non-agriculturists, are to be filled up from the nonagriculturists, whereas the woman and the Scheduled Caste, who are to be elected in view of clause 34 of the Bye laws of the respondent Society and first proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 28 of the Act, will occupy the 2 seats, meant for the category of non-agriculturists, and they cannot be considered as elected members against the 5 seats, meant for the category of agriculturists, even though they secure more votes than the votes secured by the last candidate in the category of agriculturists.