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SABYASACHI BHATTACHARYYA
Malda District Central Cooperative Bank Employees Association – Appellant
Versus
State of West Bengal – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.) :
1. The petitioner no.1 is an association of the employees of the Malda District Central Cooperative Bank, a co-operative bank formed under the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as, “the 2006 Act”).
2. The members of the petitioner no.1-Association were deputed in polling stations for the Panchayat Elections which was concluded recently in West Bengal. As per Section 6 of the West Bengal State Election Commission Act, 1994 (for short, “the 1994 Act”) and the Panchayat Laws, as well as the Handbook for Returning Officers issued by the West Bengal State Election Commission, polling personnel for the Panchayat Elections were to be deployed from among employees of the Central and State Governments as well as local bodies and primary schools and colleges, working under the State Government.
3. The moot question which arises for consideration in the present case is whether the Malda District Central Cooperative Bank (in brief, “the Bank”) comes within the purview of Government-run institutions, which would bring its employees within the fold of Section 6 of the 1994 Act, for the purpose of deputation in polling
Cooperative societies are democratic institutions owned, managed and controlled by members for their economic and social betterment, operating their business based on mutual aid and cooperative princ....
Employees of a cooperative bank not controlled or funded by the government cannot be requisitioned for election duties under the RP Act.
The court determined that cooperative banks do not qualify as 'State' under Article 12 of the Constitution, thus are not amenable to writ jurisdiction.
Writ petitions against cooperative societies are not maintainable unless they perform public functions or can be classified as public authorities as per Article 12.
Cooperative banks must ensure recruitment processes safeguard public interest through transparency and integrity by using independent agencies.
A delegate under different cooperative statutes can hold multiple voting rights without infringing the two-vote limit established by Section 21 of the Karnataka State Cooperative Societies Act, 1959.
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