IMPORTANT POINT
Elections for the Committee of Management of an educational institution must be conducted in accordance with the approved Scheme of Administration, and the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Act take precedence over the Societies Registration Act in matters of institutional governance.

JUDGMENT :

Hon'ble Salil Kumar Rai, J.

1. The above two writ petitions were connected by order of this Court and had, therefore, been heard together and are being decided by a common judgment. One Ravindra Singh Chauhan has been impleaded as respondent no. 4 in Writ – C No. 42499 of 2023 and as respondent no. 5 in Writ – C No. 12426 of 2022. Ravindra Singh Chauhan shall be referred as respondent no. 4 in the present judgment.

2. The facts of the case are that Gram Shiksha Samiti, Kasimpur Power House, District Aligarh (hereinafter referred to as, ‘Society’) is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘Act, 1860’) and its registration stands renewed for a period of five years w.e.f. 17.12.2020. The Society runs an educational institution named as Nawab Singh Chauhan Gramodaya Inter College, Kasimpur Power House, Aligarh (hereinafter referred to as, ‘College’). The College is a recognized institution as defined in Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Act, 1921 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘Act, 1921’) and is governed by the Act, 1921 and the Uttar Pradesh High Schools and Intermediate Colleges (Payment of Salaries of Teachers and Other Employees) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘Act, 1971’).

3. The bye-laws of the Society describe the different categories of members of the general body of the Society and prescribe the qualifications for being enrolled as member of the Society and the manner in which the governing body of the Society shall be elected and constituted. The bye-laws of the Society do not provide that the members of the general body of the Society or the elected office-bearers of the governing body of the Society shall also be the members of the general body of the College and members of the Committee of Management of the College.

4. The Scheme of Administration of the College stipulates, in Clause -3, a general body of the College different from the general body of the Society. The Scheme of Administration specifies the different types of members of the general body of the College and classifies them as patron members, life members, ordinary members and as special / distinguished members. The Scheme of Administration does not provide that the members of the general body of the Society shall also automatically be members of the general body of the College. The Scheme of Administration further provides the qualification required to be a member of the general body of the College, the procedure for enrolling the members and also provides that the College shall be managed by a Committee of Management elected in accordance with the Scheme of Administration. Clause -8 of the Scheme of Administration prescribes that the Committee of Management shall consist of fifteen members out of which three members shall be ex-officio members and twelve members shall be elected by the general body of the College from amongst the members of the general body of the College itself and in the manner provided in the Scheme of Administration. The term of the Committee of Management is five years. Clause -11(3) of the Scheme of Administration provides that the list of members of the general body of the College shall be declared three months before the five year term of the Committee of Management expires and the list shall be communicated to the members of the general body of the College. Clause -26 specifically notes that the College shall be managed in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme of Administration and any rule or order issued by the Registrar -Firms, Societies and Chits shall not be applicable on the general body of the College or on its executive committee.

5. The last election of the Committee of Management of the College was held on 1.1.2017 in which one Shri Vipin Kumar Chauhan was elected as Manager and his signatures were attested vide order dated 18.1.2017 passed by the District Inspector of Schools, Aligarh (hereinafter referred to as, ‘DIOS’). The petitioner in Wr