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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY AURANGABAD BENCH
ARUN R. PEDNEKER, J.
Gopalrao Kashinath Kele – Petitioner
Versus
The State Co-operative Election Authority – Respondent
Writ Petition Nos. 11516, 11520 of 2022
Decided On : 28-11-2022
DEFAULT - Cooperative Credit Society Election - Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, Section 27(5), Section 27(10), Rules of 1961, Bye law 21(3) - The court discussed the disqualification of members from voting in case of default, the liability of partnership firms and their partners, and the purpose of the legislation to keep defaulters out of the purview of vote and contesting in the cooperative credit society. The court held that default by the partnership firm registered under the Act of 1932 is a default by all its partners and if any one of the partners is also a member of the cooperative society, then such partner would also stand disqualified from voting.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners challenged the legality and validity of the order passed by the District Co-operative Election Authority, which directed the deletion of their names from the final voters list due to defaults by their partnership firms. The petitioners contended that the default by the partnership firm should not incur disqualification of the individual member.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that default by the partnership firm registered under the Act of 1932 is a default by all its partners and if any one of the partners is also a member of the cooperative society, then such partner would also stand disqualified from voting.
Issues: 1. Whether the petitioners could be disqualified as being the voters of respondent no. 7 society on the ground of default in repayment of loan amount being committed by the partnership firms registered under the Act of 1932 of which the petitioners are the partners when the petitioners have not personally committed any default in repayments of their personal loans? 2. Whether the order passed by respondent no. 4-the District Co-operative Election Authority without notice to the petitioners denies the right of natural justice and that the impugned order needs to be set aside and the matter be remanded back to respondent no. 4-the District Co-operative Election Authority for reconsideration of objections raised by respondent no. 6? 3. Whether this Court should interfere in the election process at this stage or relegate the parties to the alternate remedy at an appropriate stage?
Ratio Decidendi: The default by the partnership firm registered under the Act of 1932 is a default by all its partners and if any one of the partners is also a member of the cooperative society, then such partner would also stand disqualified from voting.
Final Decision: The Writ Petitions were dismissed, and no liberty was granted to the petitioners to exhaust the alternate remedy of election petition.
JUDGMENT :
ARUN R. PEDNEKER, J.
1. By way of present Writ Petitions, the petitioners are challenging the legality and validity of the order passed by respondent no. 4-the District Co-operative Election Authority dated 14.11.2022 wherein the objections raised by respondent no. 6 to the provisional voter list dated 27.10.2022 of the respondent no. 7, Yogeshwar Co-operative Credit Society Ltd. are accepted and 28 number of voters are directed to be deleted from the final voters list to be published on 21.11.2022.
2. The petitioners are the above deleted voters and have restricted their challenge to the extent of deletion of present writ petitioners, three in number. The petitioner no. 1 is the Chairman and petitioner nos. 2 and 3 are the Directors of the Co-operative Credit Society-respondent no. 7.
3. Brief facts leading to filing the present Writ Petitions can be summarized as under:
(ii) The provisional voters list of 3561 voters was published by respondent no. 7 society on 27.10.2022.
(iii) Respondent no. 6 raised objection to the provisional voters list, stating that the petitioners are partners of the firms registered under the Partnership Act, 1932, namely, M/s. Prithvi Builders and Developers and other partnership firms wherein the firms have taken huge loans from the respondent no. 7, society and has defaulted on repayment of loans, and thus, sought disqualification of the petitioners and deletion of their names from the final voters list. Respondent no. 6 objector along with the objection submitted audit report of the year 2022 and NPA list and also the order dated 05.05.2022 passed by the Additional Registrar, Co-operative Societies [Credit Societies] Pune under Section 73CA of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 [for short ‘Act of 1960’] read with Rule 58 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961 [for short ‘Rules of 1961’] disqualifying the petitioners.
(iv) On objection being received, the respondent no. 4-The District Co-operative Election Officer called for reply from the respondent no. 7 society to satisfy itself about the claim of the objectors. The manager of the respondent no. 7-society appeared before the District Cooperative Election Officer along with record of the respondent no. 7-society. The District Co-operative Election Officer, on going through the record, found various members of the society ineligible for voting and directed deletion of the ineligible voters, which included the petitioners from the provisional voters list. The respondent no. 4, by its order dated 14.11.2022, held that members who have either defaulted themselves or are the partners of the partnership firm which has defaulted would be disqualified from voting and has directed to remove their names from the final voters list.
4. The names of the petitioners were apparently deleted on the ground that the Firms of which they were partners were defaulters. There was no finding that the petitioners have personally defaulted on their personal loan. By the present Writ Petitions, the petitioners have challenged the order of respondent no. 4-The District Cooperative Election Officer dated 14.11.2022, on the following grounds:
The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of Section 73CA(1)(f)(ii) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, which prescribes the disqualification of a person who....
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The amendment to Section 26 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act eliminates the classification of active and non-active members, necessitating adherence to natural justice in determining vot....
The 2022 amendment to the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act removed the classification of members as active or non-active, necessitating a hearing before any deletion from the voters list.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that objections to the provisional voters list for co-operative society elections must be within the jurisdiction of the Election Officer and must ....
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