JUDGMENT :

M/s. Kalapani Samabay Samity Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Society’) is registered under the Assam Co-operative Act, 1949. The petitioner herein was elected as the Chairman of the said Society in the first meeting of the Board of Directors which was held on 10.07.2019. At this stage, it is relevant to mention that the last election of the Society was held on 23.06.2019 and as many as 15 numbers of Directors were elected including the petitioner. The term of the Board in terms with Section 31 of the Assam Cooperative Societies Act, 2007 (for short, ‘the Act of 2007’) is five from the date of the election of the Directors and the term of the Directors as per Section 42 of the Act of 2007 is 5 years from the date of the election.

2. It is the case of the petitioner that after assuming the charge as the Chairman of the Board of the Directors of Society, he held Board meeting regularly and the first Board meeting was held on 10.07.2019, and thereafter, on 18.08.2019 and 10.11.2019. It is claimed by the petitioner that under his Chairmanship, the Society was running smoothly without any blemish from any corner. But, of late, at the instigation of the in-Charge Secretary of the Society, i.e. the respondent No. 5 who was restrained from lifting of the PDS/TDPS/NFSA items of the Society due to his corrupt practices in the earlier term of the Society along with some of the Directors who have been arrayed as the respondent Nos.6, 7 & 9, a conspiracy was hatched against the petitioner to oust him from the post of the Chairman.

3. It is the further case of the petitioner that most of the Directors of the Board including the respondent Nos. 6, 7 & 9 had given a proposal to the petitioner that the petitioner should give Rs. 20,000/- per month to each of the Directors without any reason. But the petitioner declined to abide by the said proposal. Under such circumstances, the respondent No.5, in concert with the respondent Nos. 6, 7 & 9 along with other Directors, submitted a purported requisition for conveying meeting of no-confidence motion against the petitioner on 26.12.2019 before the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Hatsingimari with certain baseless and concocted allegations against the petitioner.

4. It is the specific case of the petitioner that no copy of the said requisition was addressed to as well as furnished to the petitioner. The Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Hatsingimari who is the respondent No.4 directed one Manjit Sarkar, Senior Inspector/Auditor of the Co-operative Societies, Hatsingimari to conduct an enquiry into the matter vide the communication dated 27.12.2019. On the basis of the said direction, the said Shri Manjit Sarkar issued a letter on 31.12.2019 to the Secretary of the Society and requested him to inform all the Directors of the Society to appear in the Society’s Office on 03.01.2020 at 10:00 AM with relevant documents for the said enquiry and the copy of the said letter was also communicated to the petitioner. On the said date, i.e. on 03.02.2020, a hearing was conducted by the said Manjit Sarkar wherein the petitioner submitted his point of view but it is alleged that no enquiry report was thereafter furnished to the petitioner. It is further stated that in the meantime, on 02.01.2020, the Additional Deputy Commissioner, South Salmar Mankachar, Hatsingimari had again allowed the respondent No.5 to lift and distribute the PDS/TDPS/NFSA-13 along with Mid-Day Meal rice for the Society instead of one Shohidur Rahman, Salesman of the Society who was entrusted for lifting and distributing the essential commodities of the Society vide resolution dated 22.06.2017 adopted by the Board of Directors of the Society. The petitioner who was shocked at such direction issued by Additional Deputy Commissioner, South Salmar Mankachar, Hatsingimari made an enquiry and came to learned that the said official had under political pressure at the instance of the respondent No.5 as we