The central legal point established in the judgment is that an Administrator, after the expiry of six months, has no authority to proceed against defaulting members, and such action can only be taken by a duly elected Board.

JUDGMENT

Dipankar Datta, J. - This intra-court writ appeal, at the instance of the respondent no.5 in WP 4274 (W) of 2019, registers a challenge to an order dated January 7, 2020 whereby, a learned Judge of this Court disposed of the writ petition with a direction upon the Cooperative Election Commission (hereafter the Commission), the respondent no. 35 therein, to hold election for constitution of the Board of Directors (hereafter the Board) of Vivekananada Samabaya Abasan Samity Limited (hereafter the Society) within a period of 45 days from date. In the process, the learned judge declined to make any order in respect of such members of the Society who, allegedly, had defaulted in payment of maintenance charges or otherwise, on the ground of a doubt that such notices might have been issued to such defaulters for collateral purposes. It was directed that such defaulters, if at all, should be dealt with by the newly elected board. Further, the Administrator appointed in respect of the Society, the respondent no.2, was directed to remain in-charge thereof till such time the application (sic, election) is completed. All the parties were directed to cooperate in the matter of holding of election. There was also a direction that the newly elected board shall hear out the allegations against the defaulters and deal with them in a manner deemed fit and proper.

2. Can 709 of 2020 is an application for stay of operation of the order under challenge.

3. While hearing the application for stay, we have heard the parties on the merits of the appeal with their consent. We propose to dispose of the appeal as well as the application by this common order, dispensing with all formalities.

4. The basic facts are not in dispute. The Society is a residential cooperative society of which, inter alia, the respondents 1 and 2 herein (hereafter the writ petitioners) and the appellant are resident members. There have been inter-se disputes and differences by and between the members and ultimately the Board of the Society, which was constituted pursuant to an election held on October 1, 2015, was superseded and the respondent no. 4 herein was appointed an Administrator by a notification dated June 19, 2018. The Administrator was appointed for a period of six months within which she was required to hold the election for reconstitution of the Board of the Society. The writ petitioners had questioned the order of supersession of the Board of the Society before the Cooperative Tribunal, constituted under section 146 of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006 (hereafter the 2006 Act), in an appeal (No.24 of 2018). It was their claim that the Society could not have been superseded since the Government had neither shareholding in it nor had provided any loan or financial assistance or any guarantee. The tribunal dismissed the appeal by its order dated January 30, 2019 holding that the Government notification by which the Board was superseded and the Administrator appointed, had been issued in exercise of power conferred by section 35 of the 2006 Act read with section 11 thereof and, thus, the order of supersession did not suffer from any legal infirmity. The order of the tribunal was the subject matter of challenge in the writ petition wherein the prayers were to the following effect:

"a) A Writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents to set aside and/or quash the Notification being No. 861-Coop/H/714-12/2017 dated 19.06.2018 and published in the Official Gazette on 19.07.2018 forthwith;

b) A writ of in the nature of Mandamus commanding the Respondents to set aside and/or quash the Judgment and order passed on 30.01.2019 by the West Bengal Cooperative Tribunal in Appeal No. 24 of 2018."

5. It is in the aforesaid factual backdrop that the learned judge considered it necessary to issue directions for expediting the election for reconstitution of the Board of the Society.

6. Appearing in support of the appeal, Mr. Gupta, learned senior advoca