The amendment allowing electronic voting in association elections must be conducted transparently, ensuring the integrity of the voting process while addressing concerns over proxy voting.

JUDGMENT :

Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.

1. The present appeal has been preferred at the behest of a defendant in a declaratory suit wherein an amendment to the Rules of the concerned Association/Club has been challenged and consequential relief of permanent injunction restraining the defendant from conducting AGM/e-voting of elections to be held on July 5, 2025 has been sought.

2. In the said suit, a temporary injunction application was filed, in connection with which the impugned order of ad interim injunction dated July 4, 2025 has been passed.

3. In the temporary injunction application, the plaintiff/respondent no.1 had prayed that the defendants, their men and agents and/or servants and/or each one of them are restrained from performing and/or conducting AGM and/or the email voting system of elections to be held on July 5, 2025.

4. By the impugned order, the learned Trial Judge granted ad interim injunction in terms of the said prayer.

5. Upon hearing learned senior counsel for the appellant as well as learned counsel for the plaintiff/respondent no.1, we find that the present appeal has been rendered infructuous, since the ad interim order of injunction was restricted to the prayer in the temporary injunction application, which pertained exclusively to the elections to be held on July 5, 2025.

6. However, certain important issues have been sought to be flagged by the parties.

7. Learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant submits that in the event the impugned order is permitted to be sustained, the logic in the same shall be relied on by the plaintiff/respondent no.1 in trying to forestall future notices and AGMs as well as elections on the self-same ground.

8. Learned senior counsel submits that in terms of the amended Rules, in particular Rule no. 35(d), of the Association/Club-in- question, the responsibility of holding the elections was vested with the National Securities Depositories Limited (NSDL) which is in charge of holding elections for several reputed companies as well as other organizations of note.

9. Learned senior counsel places reliance on the Rules of conduct of virtual elections of the NSDL, which was also intimated to the plaintiff/respondent no.1 by e-mail, as annexed to the present application.

10. It is submitted that the said Rules categorically provide that the User ID furnished for the purpose of voting will be the primary even number, followed by membership number registered with the Club, for the purpose of casting e-votes.

11. Alternatively, members can also select Login type as “OTP”, in which case the Login will be done by the OTP (One Time Password) received on the registered mobile number and/or e-mail ID of the concerned voter.

12. It is further stressed that the said Rules of the NSDL also provide that it is strongly recommended not to share the password/OTP of the voter with any other person and take utmost care to keep the password/OTP confidential.

13. It is submitted by learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant that as per the said Rules, physical voting has not altogether been ruled out.

14. However, in the event a member of the Association casts their vote both in virtual and venue voting (in physical mode), it is the virtual vote which would be cancelled.

15. Thus, in the event of repugnancy, it is argued, it is the physical vote which would prevail over the virtual vote.

16. Thus, it is contended that primacy has been conferred upon physical voting in case of a conflict between the two modes.

17. Learned senior counsel contends that there is no lack of transparency in the voting process and, hence, the apprehensions expressed by the plaintiff/respondent n