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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
K.RAVICHANDRABAABU, J.
V. Arulkumar and Ors. – Appellant
Vs.
Tamil Nadu Government Nurses' Association (Government Recognised), Rep. by its President -Mrs.P.Arivukan, at Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital and Ors. – Respondents
O.A.No.411 of 2015 and Application Nos.4053 and 2853 of 2015 in C.S.No.309 of 2015
Decided On : 15-07-2015
Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 – Permanent Injunction – Plaintiffs are the applicants in O.A. – They have filed the above suit for a mandatory direction, directing the defendants 1 to 4 herein to convene the General Body Meeting of the Tamil Nadu Government Nurses Association to frame the Election Rules to conduct the elections as per the registered Bye-laws for the State Level Office Bearers posts of the first defendant-Association, and for permanent injunction restraining the defendants herein from conducting the elections on 18.04.2015 or any other date without framing the Election Rules and as per the registered Bye-laws of the Association. – Held, If the Court comes to the conclusion in the main suit that the election process conducted is not in accordance with the Bye-laws of the first defendant-Association, necessity for declaration of the results would not arise. – Consequently, a decree has to be passed directing the defendants to conduct the elections in accordance with the Bye-laws of the first defendant-Association. – On the other hand, if the Court comes to the conclusion that the election was conducted in accordance with the Byelaws, it automatically follows the declaration of the results. – Therefore, Court is of the view that the process of election having been allowed to continue till the declaration of results, has to wait for the final adjudication in the main suit for a finding regarding its validity. – However, for the purpose of deciding these interlocutory applications, it is to be seen as to whether the plaintiffs have made out a prima-facie case and whether the balance of convenience is in their favour. – All the facts and circumstances discussed herein and the findings rendered herein, show that the plaintiffs have made out a strong prima-facie case for grant of an interim order. – Court also finds that the balance of convenience is also very much in their favour. – As this Court has found that the applicants/plaintiffs have made out a prima-facie case that such election process was not in accordance with the Bye-laws, there is no meaning in allowing the results also to be published and thereafter to proceed with the suit, especially under the circumstance that the contesting parties in the elections are also before this Court as party-defendants. – O.A Allowed
The plaintiffs are the applicants in O.A.No.411 of 2015. They have filed the above suit for a mandatory direction, directing the defendants 1 to 4 herein to convene the General Body Meeting of the Tamil Nadu Government Nurses' Association to frame the Election Rules to conduct the elections as per the registered Bye-laws for the State Level Office Bearers posts of the first defendant-Association, and for permanent injunction restraining the defendants herein from conducting the elections on 18.04.2015 or any other date without framing the Election Rules and as per the registered Bye-laws of the Association.
2. Pending disposal of the above said suit, the plaintiffs have filed O.A.No.411 of 2015 for ad-interim injunction restraining the respondents and their men from in any manner conducting the elections on 18.04.2015 or any other date without framing the Election Rules and as per the registered bye-laws of the Association.
3. The case of the applicants/plaintiffs, in short, is as follows:
(a) The nurses working under the State Government formed an Association called "Madras Government Nurses Association" and registered the same with an object of development and improvement of working conditions of the nurses. The Association got its recognition from the Tamil Nadu Government. The name of the Association was subsequently changed as "Tamil Nadu Nurses Government Association". There are more than 10,000 members in the said Association working all over the State of Tamil Nadu in various Government Medical Colleges, Government Hospitals and Primary Health Centres, apart from the State run ESI Hospitals.
(b) The election for the office bearers of the Association was lastly conducted on 18.02.2006, in which the respondents 2 to 4 were elected as President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. As per Bye-law No.11, the election shall be conducted once in three years. The present office bearers and the Executive Committee members deliberately failed to convene a General Body Meeting from the year 2013 onwards. Even for the Executive Meeting and General Body Meeting conducted on 19.03.2015 in Chennai, no prior notice was sent to the members and no Agenda has been notified. Further, the first applicant participated in the said meeting after getting the intimation from one Executive Committee member. In that meeting, the respondents 2 to 4/defendants 2 to 4 unilaterally decided and appointed the respondents 5 to 9/defendants 5 to 9 as the Election Officers to conduct the elections for the posts of State Level office bearers on 18.04.2015. Only 50 members participated in the meeting held on 19.03.2015. Without maintaining the Members' Registers, without publishing the eligible voters' list and without proper notice, the Election Officers fixed the election schedule as follows:
| Nomination starts | 23.03.2015 |
| Nomination ends | 31.03.2015 |
| Scrutiny and withdrawal | 01.04.2015 and 02.04.2015 |
| Final list of candidates | 02.04.2015 |
| Electioneering period | 03.04.2015 to 16.04.2015 |
| Date of polling | 18.04.2015 |
| Date of publication of results | 20.04.2015 |
(c) There are several irregularities and illegalities committed in the functioning of the first respondent-Association by the respondents 2 to 4/defendants 2 to 4. The first applicant submitted a petition on 27.03.2015 to the respondents 2 to 9, requesting them to run the Association and conduct the elections as per the Bye-laws of the Association. Another petition was submitted by the applicants on 28.03.2015 to all the respondents, requesting for furnishing a copy of the Bye-laws of the Association, list of members of the Association and the list of eligible voters. However, the respondents are proceeding with the process of conducting the elections detrimental to the interest of 10,000 members of the Association. As per Bye-law No.11, the polling of votes shall be thr
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