The main legal point established is the extent of the Registrar's jurisdiction under S.60 of the Co-operative Societies Act and the qualification requirements for candidates in Co-operative Society elections.

1. The petitioner in this case is a member of the Nadakkal Service Co-operative Society Ltd. The said Society is affiliated to the Quilon District Co-operative Bank Ltd. The Bye-laws of the District Co-operative Bank Ltd., is marked in this case as Ext. P1. Bye-law No. 21 is concerned with the management of the Bank by the Board of Directors and Bye-law No. 27 with the constitution of the Board of Directors. There are 11 members in the Board of Director. The Kerala State Co-operative Bank is to nominate 3 members and the remaining 8 members have to be elected by a meeting of the General Body and at such meeting one Director representing the primary societies in each taluk is to be elected. Ext. P2 is a copy of the rules for election to the Board of Directors of the Quilon District Co-operative Bank Ltd. The General Body of the members consisting of the affiliated Co-operative institutions and the individual shareholders would form a single constituency and it shall elect the required number of Directors to the Board of Directors of the Bank. The petitioner filed his nomination paper as a candidate for election to the Board of Directors representing the primary societies in Pathanapuram taluk. The nomination paper was duly accepted and the petitioner was nominated as a candidate. There was only one opposing candidate and he is the 2nd respondent in this petition. The petitioner was declared duly elected by the 3rd respondent. Thereafter the 2nd respondent filed a petition before the 1st respondent, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Kerala, under S.60 of the Cooperative Societies Act for setting aside the election of the petitioner and for a declaration that the 2nd respondent was duly elected. The 1st respondent passed Ext. P9 order setting aside the election of the petitioner and declaring the 2nd respondent as duly elected. The petitioner questions the validity of this order.

2. The main grounds alleged by the petitioner for impeaching Ext. P9 order were, (1) that the 1st respondent had no jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by the 2nd respondent for setting aside the election of the petitioner and for declaring the 2nd respondent as duly elected, as under S.60 of the Co-operative Societies Act, the jurisdiction of the 1st respondent was limited to disputes touching the business of the society, and that this was not a matter touching the business of the society, and (2) that the finding of the 1st respondent that the petitioner could not represent the primary societies in the Taluk of Pathanapuram is wrong.

3. As regards the first contention, petitioner's counsel referred me to the ruling reported in Gokul Prasad v. Laxmansingh (AIR. 1962 M.P. 265), and submitted that the 1st respondent had no jurisdiction to entertain the petition as the question related to the election to the Board of Directors of the District Co-operative Bank, and as this is not a matter touching the business of a society. AIR. 1962 M.P. 262 no doubt takes the view that the Registrar of Co-operative Societies has no jurisdiction to decide a dispute as regards the validity of an election of a chairman of the Board of Directors of a Co-operative Bank. But the Madras High Court in Madhava Rao v. Surya Rao (AIR. 1954 Madras 103) has taken a contrary view, holding that the jurisdiction of the Registrar under S.60 of the Cooperative Societies Act would extend to the resolution of a dispute relating to the election of the Directors of a Co-operative Bank registered under the Co-operative Societies Act. In Lakshmiah v. S.P.T.C.M. Society Ltd. (AIR. 1962 Madras 169) Rajamannar, C.J., observed:

"The appellant is not without remedy. He can seek redress under S.31 of the Madras Co-operative Societies Act of 1932 which provides for the decision of any disputes touching the business of registered Societies by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. A full Bench of this Court in Madhava Rao v. Surya Rao (ILR.1953 Mad. 1047 = AIR. 1954 Mad. 103