HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH **** ****

Nahar Singh ... Petitioner VS.

State of Punjab & Ors. ... Respondents

1. Judgment reserved on 14.01.2026 2. Judgment pronounced on 06.03.2026 3. Judgment uploaded on 07.03.2026

4. Whether operative or full judgment Full 5. Delay in pronouncement of full judgment NA and reasons, if any CORAM: HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE SANDEEP MOUDGIL ****

Present: Mr. IS Saggu, Advocate and Mr. Tejveer Singh Saggu, Advocate for the petitioner ****

Sandeep Moudgil, J.

Relief Sought (1). The jurisdiction of this Court has been invoked under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, inter alia, for issuing a writ of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 12.08.2025 (Annexure P5) vide which the petitioner has been restrained from functioning as Committee Member of the Managing Committee of the Mandour MPCS Ltd. Mandour.

Factual matrix (2). The petitioner is a member of the Mandour Multipurpose Cooperative Service Society Ltd., Mandour, Tehsil Nabha, District Patiala (in short, the Society) which is registered under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (in short, the Act) having its operation over Mandour, Ajnauda Kalan, Ajnauda Khurd, Hiana Khurd and Shamla. For the purpose of holding election under Chapter IV of the Act, the managing Committee is to be elected and as such, the name of the petitioner and respondent No.6 have been included in the voter list of Zone NO.2 – Ajnauda Kalan at Sr.No.101 and 430, respectively of the voter list. Since only 3 candidates filed nomination including the petitioner against 3 seats from Zone No.2, the petitioner was declared elected unanimously along with respondent No.6 and one Manjit Kaur vide result dated 05.12.2024 (Annexure P2).

(3). Meanwhile, when the elected committee members were to elect its office bearers, respondent No.6 Sukhpal Singh filed election petition under Section 27 and Section 55/56 of the Act before the respondent No.3 i.e. Deputy Registrar, Coop. Societies, Patiala challenging the election of the petitioner on the ground that he was resident of Hiana Khurd and has wrongly shown himself to be resident of Ajanuda Kalan in the nomination papers, however, the said election petition was dismissed vide order dated 02.05.2025 (Annexure P3).

(4). Thereafter, respondent No.6 filed an appeal under Section 68 of the Act before the Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Patiala who set aside the order dated 02.05.2025 (Annexure P3) and remanded the case for fresh decision, vide its order dated 25.07.2025 (Annexure P4). The remand case came to be heard before the Deputy Registrar and an application was filed by respondent No.6 seeking stay on functioning of the petitioner. The said application was allowed and the petitioner has been restrained from functioning and participating in the meetings of the Managing Committee of the Society as Committee Member vide ex parte impugned order dated 12.08.2025 (Annexure P5). Hence this writ petition.

Contentions on behalf of petitioner (5). Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the impugned order is patently illegal as a candidate who has been declared elected cannot be restrained form functioning as a Committee Member unless his election is set aside. He submits that interlocutory orders passed by the Deputy Registrar restraining an election member like the petitioner from taking part in the proceedings is not valid, as there is no legal justification for debarring a duly elected member which will amount to negating the mandate of the electorate. Reliance has been placed on Ram Kishan versus Registrar Cooperative Societies, Haryana 1989 (2) RRR 182 (6). It is further argued that the Arbitrator has no power to grant stay of election of an elected person under Section 56 of the Act while hearing the election disputed and an elected member cannot be restrained from functioning as a member of the Managing Committee unless his election is set aside by deciding the election petition. He further urged that