1. Petitioners are the retired employees of State Bank of Mysore. They were members of the State Bank of Mysore Employees Credit Cooperative Society – 3rd respondent herein. In these writ petitions, they are aggrieved by the order dated 4.11.2011 passed by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies according approval to the amendment of byelaw No.9(b), confirmed in appeal vide order dated 31.12.2013 passed by the 1st respondent while dismissing the appeal filed under Section 106 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act (for short ‘the Act’).

2. 3rd respondent – Society has been established for the purpose of extending to its members facilities for investment in savings from their income, affording credit facilities to the members and for carrying on such other objectives as are calculated to improve the economic condition and social welfare of the members. Byelaw No.4 (1)(c) provides that a candidate for membership must be a person employed in the State Bank of Mysore. The member is required to compulsorily subscribe for savings fund as decided by the Committee of Management from time to time. Such contribution will cease in case of members retiring from service and the contribution shall be paid interest at the rate decided by the Committee. Interest will not be paid after three months of retirement for those retiring from the service of the State Bank. Contribution shall be repaid on cessation of membership within three months of application in the prescribed form. This is evident from byelaw 4(1)(d).

3. Byelaw 8 provides for cessation of members. It states as under: “8. Membership shall cease by;

a) Retirement from or termination of service in the State Bank of Mysore.

b) Voluntary withdrawal from the society.

c) Removal by Committee of Management.

d) Death of the member.”

4. Byelaw 9(a) & (b) provide as under:

“a) Any member ceasing to be the member in terms of Clause 8, will be refunded with the amount due to him within three months of his/her claim in the prescribed format after appropriating his direct and indirect liability. The indirect liability could be the amount due to the Society by any borrower to whom the member has stood as guarantor.

b) The employees who are retiring on superannuation and on voluntary retirement can be allowed to retain the membership on such terms and conditions decided by the Committee of Management.”

5. It is thus clear from a conjoint reading of byelaw 8(a) and 9(b) that membership of the society shall cease upon retirement of the employee from the State Bank of Mysore. However, the employees who are retiring on superannuation or on voluntary retirement can be allowed to retain the membership on such terms and conditions as decided by the Committee of Management. It is, therefore, clear that a retired employee cannot as of right continue as a member because he ceases to be a member. If at all, he could be continued, it would be only by the decision of the Committee and that too on such terms and conditions that the Committee may decide to impose.

6. The 3rd respondent – Society found that it was not necessary to continue byelaw 9(b) as one of the byelaws of the Society as the same was against the express provision contained in byelaw 8(a) and therefore, it had to be amended by deleting the same and in its place including byelaw No.9(c) to the effect that retired employees can be continued as associate members. A resolution was unanimously passed in the General Body meeting convened on 19.09.2010 resolving to delete byelaw 9(b) and to insert byelaw 9(c). Petitioner No.1, who was present in the proceedings, did not object for the same, whereas, petitioner No.2 was not present in the meeting.

7. The resolution was forwarded to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies for approval. The Registrar, in exercise of his powers under Section 12(2) of the Act, accorded approval for deletion of byelaw No.9 (b). He refused to grant approval for inclusion of byelaw 9(c) exercising powers under Sectio