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Rules Interim Committee Cannot Induct or Remove Cooperative Society Members
The has decisively ruled that an appointed under lacks the authority to either enroll new members or remove existing ones from a cooperative society. A Division Bench comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla held that any resolution passed by an interim committee purporting to alter the composition of the is a and cannot be validated by the Registrar under Section 128 of the Act.
The Case: When an Interim Committee Overstepped
The dispute originated with the , a primary housing cooperative society. Its last duly elected Committee of Management was formed in 2021. Before the term could end, the society sought elections, but instead, the Additional Housing Commissioner/Additional Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Lucknow appointed an on . The very order constituting the interim committee explicitly restrained it from selling or purchasing plots, inducting or removing members, and undertaking major financial transactions beyond essential services like electricity, water, and sanitation.
Despite these clear restrictions, the interim committee passed a resolution on , examining memberships enrolled in 2022. It resolved to remove 22 members and sought permission to induct 13 new ones. Acting on this resolution, the Additional Housing Commissioner on declared the appointment of the society's Secretary void, effectively ratifying the membership changes.
Arguments and Concession
The petitioners, represented by , argued that the interim committee was a mere , bereft of any power to make such fundamental changes. They contended that none of the ingredients of Section 128 were satisfied and that no opportunity of hearing was given to the affected members or the Secretary.
Notably, counsel for respondent no.3, , conceded that the interim committee lacked the power to induct or remove members and that its resolution ought not to have been acted upon. He sought leave for a fresh, independent exercise to examine membership claims.
Legal Analysis: No Power to Alter the
The court delved into the statutory scheme governing interim committees. Under Section 29(4-C) , an interim committee exercises the powers of a regular management committee only from the Registrar. The Registrar's own directions in the appointing order had prohibited membership changes.
Citing authoritative precedents, the Bench emphasized that an interim committee's role is limited to managing day-to-day affairs until regular elections are held. It relied on the 's decisions in and , which held that administrators or interim committees cannot enroll new members. The court also drew support from the Division Bench's ruling in , which stated that the power to enroll members vests exclusively with an elected Committee of Management.
The court reasoned that allowing an interim committee to alter the
would undermine the
of cooperative societies.
"The statutory scheme makes it clear that an Interim Committee is only a temporary arrangement for managing the routine affairs of the Society and is not vested with independent authority to alter the composition of the
by inducting new members or removing existing members,"
the judgment observed.
Key Observations from the Judgment
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"The had no power or authority to induct new members or remove existing members, the resolution passed by the in that regard was a in the eyes of law."
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"The functioning of an interim committee is regulated being subject to direction issued by the Registrar, who himself prohibited induction of new members and removal of existing members. Thus, the of resolution removing existing members is beyond the of the Registrar in terms of Section 128 of the Act, 1965."
The Final Decision
The High Court quashed the impugned order dated and partly allowed the writ petition. It refused the petitioners' prayer to allow Petitioner No. 2 to continue as Secretary, noting that the interim committee is currently functional. However, the court granted liberty to the competent authority to pass a fresh order under Section 128 in an independent exercise, provided it does not rely on or give effect to any resolution passed by the interim committee.
This ruling reinforces the principle that interim management bodies are custodians of routine operations, not policymakers for the society's membership base. The decision ensures that the democratic character of cooperative societies is preserved until regularly elected committees take charge.
