The prescribed procedure under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies (Election to Committee) Rules, 2014, including provisions for challenging voter identity and preventing impersonation, must be followed in finalizing voters lists for cooperative society elections.

JUDGMENT

R.D.DHANUKA, J. - By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner prays for writ of certiorari for quashing and setting aside the order 8/6/2022 passed by the respondent no.2 finalizing the list of voters of the respondent no.3 society. The petitioners have also prayed for writ of mandamus against the respondent nos. 4, 5 and 6 to examine the provisional list of voters prepared by the respondent no.3 for ensuing elections to its managing committee in terms of the request/terms issued by the respondent no.2 on 31/5/2022. Some of the relevant facts for the purpose of deciding this writ petition are as under :-

2. The petitioners claim to be the members of the respondent no.3 society. The term of the office of the Board of Directors of the respondent no.3 expired in the year 2020. The election for the Board of Directors however was postponed from time to time on account of global COVID-19 pandemic.

3. It is the case of the petitioners that in the provisional list of voters prepared by the respondent no.3, names of large number of dead members have not been deleted. On 29/4/2022, the petitioners applied to the respondent no.3 requesting the respondent no.3 to specifically mention about such death of large number of members against the names of such members in the provisional voters list that would be prepared by the respondent no.3.

4. On 20/5/2022, the respondent no.2 published provisional list of voters for ensuing elections to the managing committee of the respondent no.3 on 23/5/2022. The respondent no.2 invited suggestions/objections to the said list from 23/5/2022 to 31/5/2022. The respondent no.2 fixed 8/6/2022 to be the date for making the suggestion/objections to the provisional list of voters, before finalization of the voters list on 13/6/2022.

5. On 31/5/2022, the petitioners submitted their objections to the provisional list of voters. The respondent no.2 addressed letters to several Village Panchayats in the area of operation of the respondent no.3 and the respondent no.2 requesting the respondent no.5 and the Village Panchayats to submit a report about the factum of death of the members of the respondent no.3 as per the objections of the petitioners and others. The respondent no.2 requested that the report be submitted before 6/6/2022.

6. It is the case of the petitioners that the respondent no.2 directed the respondent no.3 to communicate to all the concerned Village Panchayats about the said directions issued by the respondent no.2 for collection of information and more particularly whether any of its members are dead and its effect on the list of voters.

7. It is the case of the petitioners that the concerned Village Panchayats and the stakeholders were not notified about the impending hearing on the objections to the provisional list of voters in terms of the directions dtd. 31/5/2022 and 2/6/2022. According to the petitioners, several Village Panchayats in the area of operation of the respondent no.3 did not know that information was being solicited by the respondent no.2.

8. On 6/6/2022, the respondent no.2 heard the petitioners and others on their objections on the provisional list of voters. The petitioners also submitted their written submissions on 6/6/2022.

9. On 8/6/2022, the respondent no.2 finalized the voters list by accepting the objections raised by the petitioners partly. The respondent no.2 directed the respondent no.3 to amend its original list of voters in terms of the list of members prepared by him and to submit the revised list in order to enable him to publish the final list on 13/6/2022.

10. Being aggrieved by the said order dtd. 8/6/2022, the petitioners have filed this petition.

11. Mr.Patwardhan, learned counsel for the petitioners states that the large number of voters, estimated to the extent of 25 - 30 % of the voters mentioned in the list of voters, are dead. The respondent no.2 did not give sufficient time to raise any objection in respe