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2025 Supreme(Online)(All) 2646
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
Siddharth Varma, J
Sarfaraj Ahmad v. State of U.P.
Special Appeal No. 94/2022 | Special Appeal No. 124/2022 | WRIT - C No. 1313/2022 | WRIT - C No. 3598/2022 | Intra - Court Appeal No. 308/2022
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Shri Sharad Pathak
For the Respondents: Shri Y.K. Mishra, Shri Tushar Verma
The Deputy Registrar's ruling on membership induction failed to comply with the bylaws, rendering the induction invalid and highlighting a lack of adherence to natural justice principles.
Headnote:(A) Societies Registration Act, 1860 - Section 4B (as amended in U.P.) - Membership dispute - Deputy Registrar's ruling on membership induction found arbitrary and against bylaws - Appellants' membership induction deemed invalid due to procedural breaches by the Secretary in handling the matter - Hearing not given to appellants prior to decision - Similar past cases considered, emphasizing duty of Registrar to ensure compliance with bylaws. (Paras 11, 15, 23)
(B) Natural Justice - Principles of natural justice not adhered to in the decision-making process of Deputy Registrar, who did not provide opportunity for separate individual responses before ruling. (Paras 4, 27)
(C) Legal Review - Courts emphasized the role of the Deputy Registrar as merely administrative and not adjudicative concerning membership disputes, allowing for appeals to higher courts. (Paras 19, 30)
Facts of the case:
The Tanda Muslim Educational Association alleged that membership was manipulated by the Secretary, breaching bylaws during induction of new members. Deputy Registrar denied legality of the induction process after reviewing relevant documents and objections.
Findings of Court:
The appeal was dismissed affirming the Deputy Registrar's findings as valid despite claims of procedural irregularities by appellants.
Issues: Key issues involved authoritative election legitimacy, procedural compliance during membership induction, and the adherence to principles of natural justice.
Ratio Decidendi: Courts affirmed that the Registrar's review process should remain strictly within the bounds of administrative scrutiny, not adjudicative determination of disputes, and noted the absence of prejudice towards the appellants from non-hearing principles.
Result: Intra-Court Appeals dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of membership disputes and appeals. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. arguments against the authority of the deputy registrar. (Para 4 , 5 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. court's considerations on the inquiry under the act. (Para 9 , 10 , 12 , 13) |
| 4. induction processes and regulatory compliance requiring general body approval. (Para 14 , 16 , 17) |
| 5. findings of the deputy registrar about improper induction. (Para 18 , 19 , 20) |
| 6. clarification on natural justice concerning the hearing issue. (Para 21 , 22 , 24 , 28) |
| 7. final disposition of the appeals. (Para 30 , 31 , 32) |
1. The controversy involved in the aforesaid three intra - Court appeals relates to the issue of the membership of the appellants, of Special Appeal No.94/2022, which was unfavorably decided against them by the Deputy Registrar, Firm, Society and Chits, Ayodhya Mandal, Ayodhya (hereinafter referred to as 'Deputy Registrar'). The said order passed by the Deputy Registrar dated 11.02.2022 was assailed by the appellants, of intra - Court Appeal No.94/2022, by instituting WRIT - C No.1313/2022, which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge vide its judgment dated 05.03.2022 : (AIR 2022 All. 114). This judgment of the learned Single Judge is assailed by the appellants in Special Appeal No.94/2022 while the Committee of Management, Tanda Muslim Educational Association (hereinafter referred to as the Society), who was the respondent No.3 in WRIT - C No.1313/2022 also assailed the same judgment passed by the learned Single Judge dated 05.03.2022 by means of intra - Court Appeal No.124/2022. While the said two intra - Court appeals were pending, in the meantime, the Deputy Registrar had passed an order dated 02.04.2022 directing the Society to fill up the vacant posts and inform the Deputy Registrar in this regard and in furtherance of the same, elections were held by the Society on 26.03.2022 which was challenged by the appellants of intra - Court Appeal No.308/2022 by filing WRIT - C No.3598/2022 which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge on 17.06.2022 and this order too is under challenge in intra - Court Appeal No.308/2022.
2. Since, the issue of membership as well as the exercise of powers by the Deputy Registrar under S.4B (as amended in the U.P.) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act of 1860') is in question in intra - Court Appeals No.94/2022 and 124/2022 and the subsequent event is assailed in intra - Court Appeal No.308/2022, accordingly, all the three intra - Court appeals were connected and heard and are being decided by this common judgment.
3. The brief resume of facts, giving rise to the instant three intra - Court appeals, are being narrated hereinafter.
(a) The Tanda Muslim Educational Association Society was formed and registered under the provisions of the Act of 1860 in the year 1949. The said Society has its own registered by - laws and it is governed by it. The term of the Committee of Management is two years and the last undisputed election of the Committee of Management of the said Society was held on 18.06.2019.
(b) In the last undisputed election as referred to hereinbefore, the strength of the general body was of only 28 members. Since, the Committee of Management envisages 15 posts, elections could be held on 11 posts and the Society had made a request for allowing the Society to fill up the remaining 4 posts. The Deputy Registrar permitted the Society to fill up the remaining posts and thereafter on 08.07.2019, the election on the 4 vacant posts was held. The Society sent a list of 15 members of the Committee of Management on 09.07.2019 to the Deputy Registrar.
(c) The dispute arose from the issuance of the agenda for the meeting scheduled to be held on 05.08.2019. It is alleged that the Committee of Management in its meeting held on 05.08.2019 had authorized the Secretary to take steps in enrolling new members in the general body of the Society. In furtherance thereof, an advertisement was issued in the loca
