The Electoral Officer has the power to remove names of ineligible members from the preliminary voters' list, as conferred by Rule 35A of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules, 1969.

1. The issue that arises for consideration in both these Writ Petitions is, whether the Electoral Officer has the power to remove the names of ineligible persons from the preliminary voters’ list, while considering the objections to the said list.

2. Since the issue raised is common, these Writ Petitions are considered and disposed of together. The essential facts are not in dispute.

3. The election of office bearers of the Idukki District Police Co-operative Society Ltd. No.(I) 490 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Society’ for short) is scheduled to be conducted on 17.02.2013. The term of the present Managing Committee in office expires on 03.03.2013. Therefore, the Managing Committee has decided to conduct a fresh election on 17.02.2013. Accordingly, an election notification dated 29.12.2012 has been published, which is Ext.P1 in both these Writ Petitions. In accordance with the schedule contained in Ext.P1, the preliminary voters’ list was published on 16.01.2013. The said list contained a total number of 2625 persons. The objections were called for, to the preliminary voters’ list. Objections were considered and a final voters’ list was published on 24.01.2013. According to the petitioners, the names of 351 members have been deleted from the preliminary voters’ list, by the Electoral Officer while publishing the final voters’ list. According to the petitioners, the names of the said persons have been removed without conducting any enquiry and without calling for objections from any quarter.

4. According to Sri P.N. Mohanan, who appears for the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.2639 of 2013, Rule 35(3) of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’ for short) contains a provision enabling the Returning Officer to publish a final list of “eligible voters”, which implies that the Returning Officer is empowered to delete the names of ineligible voters. However, such a provision is absent in Rule 35A of the Rules. Rule 35A(4) casts a duty on the Electoral Officer to publish the preliminary voters’ list prepared by the Managing Committee, calling for objections to the same. After considering the objections, the Electoral Officer has to publish the final voters’ list in Form No.35. Since the words “eligible voters” have been omitted from Rule 35A, it is contended that the Electoral Officer has no power to remove the name of any person from the preliminary voters’ list. In the absence of a power to remove any name from the preliminary voters’ list, the action of the Electoral Officer in the present case in removing the names of 351 members is stated to be arbitrary and illegal. The learned counsel also places reliance on Ext.P4 judgment of this Court to contend that in a similar situation, this Court had permitted the persons who had been so removed to participate in the election, to vote and also to contest as candidates. Therefore, the learned counsel seeks the issue of similar directions in the present case also.

5. The petitioner in W.P.(C) No.3159 of 2013 is a member of the Society, whose name has been removed from the preliminary voters’ list by the Electoral Officer. According to him, he is one of the founder members of the Society and a former office bearer thereof. However, according to him, he has been transferred to the Mundakkayam Police Station in Kottayam district on 13.06.2012 and is presently working there as the Assistant Sub Inspector of Police. According to him, the fact that he has been transferred out of Idukki district does not disqualify him from continuing as a member of the Society. He is a permanent resident of Kattappana in Idukki district and was admitted as a member of the Society while he was working at Kattappana Police Station. He places reliance on clause 9 of the Bye-laws of the Society to contend that none of the situations contemplated therein, that would result in the disqualification of a member, applies to him. He is also a person who is desirous of con