A special appeal against a writ court judgment is maintainable when the underlying administrative order was passed without statutory jurisdiction, as such acts do not constitute the "purported exercise" of appellate or revisional power required to trigger institutional bars to appeals.

JUDGMENT :

Kshitij Shailendra, J.

1. Heard Shri Gajendra Pratap Singh, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Jai Singh Parihar for the appellants, learned Standing Counsel for respondents no. 1 to 3 and Shri Anil Bhushan, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Manish Kumar Pandey for respondents no. 4 to 8 in Special Appeal No. 371 of 2026. Same learned Senior Advocates have been heard in the connected Special Appeal Defective No. 337 of 2026, but from reverse side.

2. These two special appeals raise challenge to the order dated 13.03.2026 whereby the learned Single Judge has disposed of Writ – C No. 8732 of 2026 (Dr. Keshbhan Singh and another vs. State of U.P. and 7 others) setting aside the order dated 13.02.2026 impugned therein and remitting the matter to the Commissioner, Jhansi Division, Jhansi (‘Commissioner’) to decide an appeal only qua order passed under Section 25(2) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (‘the Act’). The learned Single Judge has further observed that so far as order passed by the Commissioner under Section 4 -A of the Act is concerned, the private respondents will have liberty to avail legally available remedy.

3. Since the order passed by the learned Single Judge has been challenged by both sides to the extent they feel aggrieved of the same, both the appeals are being decided by a common order.

SPECIAL APPEAL No. - 371 of 2026

4. The memo of present appeal contains solitary ground of challenge to the order passed by the learned Single Judge to the effect that there being no provision for appeal against the order dated 13.06.2025 passed by the Assistant Registrar under Section 25(2) of the Act, the order of remand to the Commissioner for deciding the appeal could not have been passed.

5. The facts of the matter for the purpose of decision in these two appeals are not in dispute. The Assistant Registrar, Jhansi Division, Jhansi, passed a composite order dated 13.06.2025 under Section 25(2) and Section 4 -B of the Act. He declared the Society as defunct/time barred under Section 25(2) and also declared a list of 20 members of the General Body under Section 4 -B as valid.

6. Challenging the said order, an appeal was filed on behalf of respondents no. 5 to 8 before the Commissioner, which was admitted by him by order dated 19.07.2025. Later on, the same was allowed on 13.02.2026 setting aside the order dated 13.06.2025 and a list of 10 members, as submitted by the contesting respondents (appellants in appeal before the Commissioner), was declared as valid. Further, the Assistant Registrar was directed to ensure further proceedings for the purposes of holding elections of the Society based upon the determination made. It is against the said order dated 13.02.2026 passed by the Commissioner that the writ petition giving rise to these two special appeals was filed.

Preliminary Objection

7. Shri Anil Bhushan appearing for the private respondents has raised a preliminary objection as regards maintainability of the present special appeal on the ground that the writ petition had arisen out of an appellate order passed by the Commissioner in exercise of powers under Societies Registration Act, 1860 and, therefore, the present special appeal is no