Writ petitions against societies are not maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution if the society is not an instrumentality of the State; election disputes must be resolved under the Societies Registration Act.

ORDER:

This Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief:

“...........to declare the action of the 5^th Respondent in issuing the impugned Election Notification dated 19.05.2024 of the 2nd Respondent Association as per the Model Election Guidelines of NSDCI, 2011 instead of the byelaws of the 2^nd Respondent Association without the Resolution of the Executive Committee of the 2^nd Respondent Association whose term under Bye-law No.15 is not over or preparing a tentative Voters list, call for objections and thereafter, preparing the final Voters’ list as per Byelaw No 21(ii) of the 2^nd Respondent Association and not by Respondents 4 and 5 and straightaway issuing the Electoral College dated 25.05.2024 by Respondents 4 and 5 incorrectly deleting the name of Petitioner on the ground that he completed two terms as Secretary is without jurisdiction as illegal arbitrary contrary to the Byelaw No 21 (ii) of the 2nd Respondent Association and consequently to set aside the impugned Election Notification dated 19.05.2024 and the Electoral College dated 25.05.2024..............”

2. Heard Sri. S. Ashok Anand Kumar, Iearned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of Sri N. Gangadhar, learned counsel for petitioner, Sri M.S. Prasad, learned Senior Counsel on behalf of Ms. A. Satya Sri, learned Standing Counsel for the 2^nd respondent - Telangana Olympic Association (for short, ’TOA’).

3. Petitioner asserts that TOA is registered under the Telangana Societies Registration Act, 2001 and is affiliated with Indian Olympic Association. It is responsible for overseeing all sports activities of various affiliated Sports Associations in Telangana. The 1^st respondent has allocated land and provided financial assistance for the construction of Olympic Bhavan as well as for conducting sports activities within the state. According to a communication from the Indian Olympic Association, dated 05.11.2018, an Arbitral Award dated 08.04.2019 mandates that the Executive Committee of the TOA must appoint a retired High Court Judge or other specified individuals as Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer for conducting elections. Petitioner claims that a voters’ list was prepared and elections for TOA were conducted, with results declared in Form-15 on 09.02.2020 for the term 2020-2024. The 3rd respondent was not elected as per Bye-law No. 18 (i), rendering his role as Officiating President void ab initio and illegal.

During the term of TOA (2020-2024), the 3^rd respondent, in collusion with the 4^th respondent, allegedly committed serious illegalities and irregularities. They purportedly made independent policy decisions without approval from the Executive Committee or General Body, failing to issue notices, hold discussions, or communicate meeting minutes. Respondents 3 and 4 allegedly removed office bearers from affiliated Associations without due process, appointing their preferred candidates instead. He further claims that Respondents 3 and 4 misappropriated funds without proper documentation, failing to present annual income and expenditure statements to the Association members. Additionally, they reportedly collected fees for the conference hall and room bookings, which were not accounted for and were utilized without proper record- keeping. Meetings were allegedly conducted by them without proper notice, agenda, resolutions, or documentation of minutes, which were not circulated to other office bearers or Executive Committee members. The action of Respondents 3 and 4 demonstrated favouritism towards specific Associations, undermining the interests and welfare of the TOA.

Petitioner contends that at the end of the term of office, Respondents 3 and 4 were obligated to conduct an Executive Committee Meeting to decide the date for Annual General Body Meeting, addressing all activities, audit of accounts and elections. However, contrary to the Bye-laws, after their term expired, on 08.02.2024, they colluded to issue notices dated 20.02.2024 and 27.03.202