C/M Inter. College Korari Lachhan ... vs State Of U.P. Thru Secy. ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 1696 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
 
 

Reserved
 

 
Court No. - 19
 

 
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 1004847 of 2012
 

 
Petitioner :- C/M Inter. College Korari Lachhan Shah Thru Manager And Anr
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru Secy. Institutional Finance And Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Dileep Kr. Singh Chauhan, M.B. Singh
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Anupam Mehrotra, Diwakar Singh Kaushik, Ram Kumar Singh, Ripu Daman Shahi
 

 
Hon'ble Pankaj Bhatia, J.

1. Heard Sri M.B. Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel and Sri Anupam Mehrotra, the counsel for the respondent no.5.

The matter was heard at length.

2. The present petition has been filed challenging the order dated 13.08.2012 (Annexure no.1 to the petition).

3. The facts, in brief, are that there exists a society in the name of 'Gandhi Junior High School, Korari Lachhan Shah, Post Korari Heer Shah, Tehsil Amethi, Amethi' said to be registered under the Societies Registration Act. It is stated that initially one Sri Bhagwat Singh was the Manager of the Society. It is stated that subsequently, at the time of removal, it was decided to remove the word 'Gandhi' from the Society. It is stated that although the issue of renewal was pending, after Bhagwat Singh one Kali Prasad Singh was elected as Manager, who again submitted the application for renewal of the registration in which the orders were passed for depositing the penalty for renewal and ultimately the renewal was granted for a period of five years w.e.f. 10.10.2000 and the name of the Society was changed to Intermediate College, Korari Lachhan Shah, District Sultanpur.

4. In the present petition, it is claimed that Sri Kali Prasad Singh died on 06.11.2004 and by the General Body, the petitioner was elected as the Manager for the remaining period. It is stated that in the meanwhile, Sri Paras Nath Singh, the Member of the college run by the Society got registered a new society in the name of Korari Inter College and claimed to have held an election before the Educational Authorities.

5. In short, a dispute arose in between the petitioner on one hand and Sri Paras Nath Singh on the other hand. It is stated that Sri Paras Nath Singh died and in his place, the opposite party no.5 claimed that she became the Manager of the Society. On account of the dispute, the matter went before the Deputy Registrar who passed an order on 21.07.2010 (Annexure 5 to the writ petition) wherein after considering the entire issues and on perusal of the records and for holding the fresh elections, accepted the list of 60 ordinary members of the Society as an interim list, permitting both the parties to raise objections with regard to the said list and also directed that the same shall be decided after considering the objections. The said order dated 21.07.2010 attained finality and was never challenged. It is argued that as no further steps were being taken, the petitioner preferred a writ petition being Misc. Single No.6859 of 2011, which was disposed off vide order dated 17.11.2011 with direction to the opposite parties to publish the final list of members of the General Body of the Society within three months. In the said writ petition, the petitioners as well as the respondents were heard. It is stated that instead of deciding the objections against the sixty members list, as was directed in the order dated 21.07.2010, a fresh order was passed on 20.03.2012 wherein a list given by the respondents was taken into consideration and on account of the alleged dispute, the matter was referred for adjudication under section 25(1) of the Societies Registration Act. The said order dated 20.03.2012 is on record as Annexure No. 12. The petitioners aggrieved against the said order once again preferred a Writ Petition Misc. Single No.1876 of 2012 wherein the order dated 20.03.2012 was set aside vide order dated 05.04.2012 and the matter was relegated for deciding the list, this time the matter was referred to the Deputy Registrar other than the Deputy Registrar at Faizabad. In terms of the said directions, contained in the order dated 05.04.2012, the impugned order came to be passed on 13.08.2012. By means of the said order, the authority held that it had the jurisdiction to go into the question of the Members other than the sixty members list, which was directed to be considered in the order dated 21.07.2010. In the said order, he further recorded that the respondent no.5 had produced certain records and based upon the said records produced at the time of hearing on 24.07.2012, proceeded to hold that the eighty four members list given by the respondents was to be included in the sixty members list and thus after deleting the name of the dead persons, a total list of 112 General Body Members of the Society was declared as a valid list. The said order is under challenge.

6. The counsel for the petitioner argues that the order dated 13.08.2012 is bad in law inasmuch as the list was to be decided based upon an order dated 21.07.2010 which had attained finality and was never challenged by any of the parties. He further argues that the order is further bad inasmuch as the list of documents recorded to be given by the respondent no.5 on 24.07.2012 was never given or shown to the petitioner and thus there was a clear violation of the principles of natural justice while passing the impugned order. In the light thereof, he submits that the order impugned is liable to be set aside on both the counts as argued.

7. Sri Anupam Mehrotra, learned counsel appearing on behalf of respondent no.5 raises a preliminary objection that the petition at the instance of the petitioner no.1 is not maintainable as he himself has claimed to be the Manager of the Society only for the remaining terms and thus, he could not have filed the petition claiming himself to be the Manager. He further argues that the registration of the Society has come to an end, as such, the petitioners' society cannot sue. He further argues that the petitioner no.2 has never filed any resolution showing himself to be elected as Manager. On the main arguments in the writ petition, the counsel for the respondent no.5 has not denied the averments that the documents filed on 24.7.2012 by the respondent no.5 were ever given to the petitioner. He has places reliance on the following judgments :

i. PBNC Committee vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh; AIR 1958 AP 773 (para 19)

ii. Pattada Uthayya vs. Pattada Somayya; AIR 1955 Mysore 149 (para 8)

iii. Mahabir Prasad vs. Satyanarain; AIR 1963 Patna 131 (para 38);

iv. Arya Samaj vs. Manmohan Tiwari; 1994 (12) LCD 205 (para 12);

v. Adare Madarsa vs. Assistant Registrar; 2005 (23) LCD 1021 (para 12, 13)

vi. Umesh Chandra vs. Mahila Vidyalaya Society; 2006 (24) LCD 1373 (Para 68)

vii. Baba Bariyar Shah Memorial Association vs. State of U.P.; 2019 (37) LCD 887 (para 5-10, 21, 29)

viii. State of U.P. vs. C.O.D. Chheoki Employees' Coop. Society Ltd. (1997) 3 SCC 681 (para 14, 16);

ix. State of Mahatashtra vs. RS Nayak; AIR 1982 SC 1249 (para 2-7)

x. Bhagwati Prasad vs. Delhi State Mineral Development Corporation (1990) 1 SCC 361 (Para 5)

xi. Ram Bali vs. State of U.P.;(2004) 10 SCC 598 (para 9)

xii. State of Assam vs. Union of India (2010) 10 SCC 408 (para 22)

xiii. Madan Mohan vs. Arun Shourie; AIR 2010 Allahabad 66 (para 44, 45)

xiv. Prem Prakash vs. State of U.P decided on 25.05.2015 in Special Appeal No.307/2015.

xv. Anugrah Narain Singh vs. State of U.P.; (1996) 6 SCC 303 (par 35).

xvi. Gandhi Sahitya Sangh Trust vs. Union of India (2004) 11 SCC 523 (para 12, 13).

xvii. Prestige Lights Ltd. vs. State Bank of India (2007) 8 SCC 449.

xviii. Manubhai J. Patel vs. Bank of Baroda (2002) 10 SCC 253 (para 7).

8. The counsel for the petitioner, in rejoinder, placed reliance on the following judgments :

i. Sri Aadarsh Sanskrit Vidyalaya and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2016 (34) LCD 2227.

ii. Sri Aadarsh Sanskrit Vidyalaya and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2016 (9) ADJ 679 (DB) (LB).

iii. Jagdamba Prasad Pandey vs. State of U.P. and others; (2019) 37 LCD 2574.

iv. U.P. State Spinning Company Limited vs. R. S. Pandey and another; (2005) 8 SCC 264.

v. Century Spinning Mills and Manufacture Co. Ltd. and another vs. Ulhas Nagar Municipal Council and another; 1970 SCC (1) 582.

vi. Ram Sewak Giri and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2014 (4) SCC ESC 2241 (All).

vii. Dr. Shyam Narain Singh and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2012 (4) UPLBEC 3294.

viii. Syed Saeed Jafar and another vs. State of U.P. and others; (2015) 33 LCD 1889.

ix. State of U.P. vs. Ali Abbas Abdi; 2001 (2) ESC 619.

x. Avtar Singh Chhabra vs. State of U.P. and others; 2006 (27) UPLBEC 1588.

xi. Committee of Management Smt. Ram Beti Junior High School Imaliya District Firozabad vs. State of U.P. and others; 2012 (3) LCD 1917.

xii. Committee of Management Board of Trustees Saltanat Bahadur Education Trust and Another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2014 (11) ADJ 512.

xiii. Committee of Management Madarsa Qasmia Arabia Islamiya Upper Kot Bulandshahar vs. State of U.P. and others; 2014 (5) ADJ 576.

xiv. Committee of Management Dughdeshwar Nath Vidyalaya and others vs. State of U.P. and others; 2013 (2) ADJ 349.

xv. Writ Petition No.999 (MS) of 2013 Rajesh Prakash Awasthi vs. State of U.P. and others; Writ Petition No.1079 (MS) of 2013 Ram Chandra Pandey vs. State of U.P. and others.

xvi. Committee of Management Janta Shiksha Prasar Samiti and another vs. Assistant Registrar, Firms Societies and Chits and others; 2012 93) LCD 1318.

xvii. Committee of Management Gram Vikas Uchchatar Madhyamik Vidyalaya Samit and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2012 (94) ALR 870.

xviii. Shah Ganj Public School Shahganj Jaunpur and another vs. State of U.P. and others; 2015 (8) ADJ 1990.

9. In the light of the arguments raised at the bar, what emerges is that the election of the Society has not been held since prior to 2010 and the term of the Committee of Management elected prior thereto has already come to an end. The elections of the society have to be held in terms of the bye-laws and once the Deputy Registrar had decided the list of Members vide order dated 21.07.2010 which attained finality and was never challenged by any of the parites, it was expected that the list shall be finalized after receiving objections and consequently, the elections would be held based upon the said list, which has not been done despite orders of this Court on 17.11.2011 in Writ Petition Misc. Single No.6859 of 2011 as well as the order dated 05.04.2012.

10. The other fact remains undisputed is that the documents given by the respondent no.4 and as reflected in the order dated 13.08.2012 on 24.07.2012 were never given to the petitioner.

11. At this stage, the election of the Society have to be held again. There is a dispute with regard to addition of Members after the renewal of the society having come to an end, which dispute will be a never ending one.

12. As the order dated 21.07.2010 had attained finality, it had to be brought to its logical conclusion, as such, the present petition is disposed off with directions to the Deputy Registrar, Amethi to pass a fresh order with regard to the list of the Members present and living only out of the sixty members as was directed vide order dated 21.07.2010 and pass fresh orders for holding the elections in accordance with law, if required under his supervision. It is clarified that no steps shall be taken for addition of any person in the list over and above the sixty persons as mentioned in the order dated 21.07.2010. The said exercise shall be carried out with all expedition within a period of three months from the date of filing of a copy of the order before the Deputy Registrar, Amethi.

13. I am not going into to the cases cited by the parties in view of the fact that the dispute can only be settled when fresh elections are held .

14. The order dated 13.08.2012 is quashed in view of the findings recorded above.

The writ petition stands disposed off.

Order Date :- 28.04.2022

VNP/-