The Secretary Sant Ravidas Nagari ... vs The State Co Operative Election ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 3199 Bom

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              IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY
                         BENCH AT AURANGABAD

                           WRIT PETITION NO.1771 OF 2021

 01 The Secretary,
    Sant Ravidas Nagari Sahakari Path
    Sanstha Maryadit, Aurangabad
    and 19 others                                          Petitioners

          Versus

 The State Co-operative Election
 Authority, Pune & others                                  Respondents


 Mr.K.J.Suryawanshi, advocate for the Petitioners.
 Mr.S.K.Kadam, Standing Counsel for Respondents No.1 & 2.
 Mr.L.H.Kawale, advocate for Respondent No.3.


                               CORAM : V.K.JADHAV, J.

                     RESERVED ON    : 03rd February, 2021
                     PRONOUNCED ON : 18th February, 2021


 ORDER :

1 By way of instant petition, the petitioner-Societies are

challenging the legality, validity and propriety of the order dated 22 nd

January, 2021, passed by Respondent No.2- Election Offcer whereby the

objections raised by the petitioner-societies for inclusion of their names

in the fnal voters' list for the election of Aurangabad District Central Co-

operative Bank Limited, came to be rejected.

2 The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that

Respondent No.2 has issued the notifcation dated 27 th

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December, 2019 calling for the resolutions of the Member Societies to

nominate their representatives and to prepare the provisional voters' list

of the Respondent No.3-Bank. In terms of the said notifcation, the

Member Societies were to pass the resolution of representative of the

concerned Member Societies and it was to be submitted on or before 31 st

January, 2020. In view of the same, the petitioner-Societies have passed

resolutions in the meetings on respective dates before the prescribed

date I.e. 31st January, 2020, nominating names of their representatives

to participate in the ensuing election of Respondent No.3-Bank.

However, the State Government has issued orders on 27 th January, 2020

and 31st January, 2020 directing postponement of the elections to

District Central Co-operative Banks and V.K.S.S. Societies within the

State of Maharashtra for a period of three months. Before the prescribed

date i.e. 31st January, 2020, representatives of the petitioner-Societies

had been to the offce of Respondent No.3 to submit the copy of the

resolution. However, since the elections were postponed under the orders

of the State Government, the offce of Respondent No.3 had not accepted

the said Resolution submitted by the petitioner-Society, but has made an

endorsement to that effect.

3 The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that so far

as the said orders dated 27th January, 2020 and 31st January, 2020,

issued by the State Government postponing the elections, came to be

challenged before this Court by fling Writ Petition No.3155 of 2020 and

by way of interim order dated 24 th February, 2020, the Division Bench

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of this Court, issued a direction to the respondents to continue the

process of fnalization of voters' list.

4 The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that

Respondents No.2 to 4, however, did not issue any communication to the

petitioner for submitting the resolution of the representative. It was

incumbent upon them to issue a letter to the petitioner-Society through

R.P.A.D. as well as through personal service. The petitioner-society was

not aware of the petition fled before this Court and the interim order

passed in the said petition.

5 The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that

Respondent No.2 has published the program on 04 th January, 2021 in

the Daily Newspaper for fnalization of voters' list of the Respondent No.3-

Bank. As per the said program, the provisional voters' list was

published on 04th January, 2021 by the Respondent No.2 and objections

to the provisional voters' list were to be submitted up to 13th January,

2021. The objections were to be heard and decided on 25 th January,

2021 and the fnal voters' list was to be published on 27 th January,

2021. However, the petitioners-societies come to know about the said

program through some other Society.

6 The learned Counsel for the petitioner-societies submits

that the petitioner-Societies accordingly submitted applications to

Respondent No.2 on 05th, 06th, 07th, 08th, 11th January, 2021

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respectively, requesting therein to include the names of the petitioner

societies in the voters' list of Respondent No.3-Bank. It has been

specifcally brought to the notice of Respondent No.2 that the petitioner-

Societies have already passed Resolutions before 31 st January, 2020,

however, it was not accepted in the offce of Respondent No.2 due to the

postponement of elections under the orders of the State Government.

Even the petitioner-Societies have raised objection in that regard.

However, without considering the guidelines issued under Circular dated

10th December, 2019, Respondent No.2 illegally rejected the

objection/application preferred by the petitioner-society and refused to

include petitioner-Society and its representative in the fnal voters' list for

elections to Respondent No.3-Bank.

7 The learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the

guidelines given in the Circular dated 10th December, 2019, have not been

considered and no communication has been served upon the petitioner-

Societies by Respondents No.2 & 3 for calling the Resolution of

representative before preparation of provisional voters' list. The learned

Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner-Societies would

remain unrepresented in the ensuing elections to Respondent No.3-

Bank.

8 I have heard Mr.S.K.Kadam, Standing Counsel for

Respondents No.1 & 2. He has supported the order passed by

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Respondent No.2.

9 I have also heard Mr.Kawale, learned Counsel for

Respondent No.3-Bank for some time.

10 It appears that so far as earlier process of elections to

Respondent No.3-Bank is concerned, under the orders of the

Government dated 27th January, 2020 and 31st January, 2020, the

elections have been postponed. It appears that the Division Bench of

this Court, in Writ Petition No.3155 of 2020, while issuing notice to the

respondents, has directed the respondents to proceed further with

fnalization of voters' list. In view of the said direction, further process of

election is commenced from the stage it was stopped.

11 At the outset, it is needless to mention that the Division

Bench, by judgment and order dated 11 th March, 2020 in bunch of writ

petitions, including Writ Petition No.3155 of 2020, quashed and set aside

the orders dated 27th January, 2020 and 31st January, 2021, issued by

the Government. In the Civil Applications fled by the State Co-operative

Election Authority, bearing C.A. (St.) No.10472 of 2020 and connected

matters, fled in the above referred bunch of disposed of writ petitions,

the Division Bench of this Court by order dated 23 rd March, 2020,

considering the pandemic situation, in para 8, has observed that the

District Co-operative Election Offcer, the State Government or such

other competent Authority may take decision with

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regard to the postponement of the election and its process considering

the fact and situation and may take such other steps as are permissible

and required under the Statute.

12 In terms of the guidelines dated 10th December, 2019, for

calling resolutions from the Societies for sending their representative, the

communication is required to be made through R.P.A.D. and if so

required, one additional copy of the communication is required to be

served on such Society by hand. Furthermore, the paper publication is

also required to be given as regards the prescribed dates.

13 In the instant case, I do not fnd any record that the

petitioner-societies have been served with the said communication in

respect of sending of the resolution recommending name of the

representative before the rescheduled date.

14 It has been further pointed out to me during the course of

argument that the paper publication was given in Daily Newspaper

"Punya Nagari", Aurangabad.

15 I have carefully gone through the said paper publication. It

appears that the said paper publication has been published not in a

widely circulated Newspaper and furthermore, it is not in the manner, as

prescribed in the guidelines dated 10th December, 2019. It also appears

that the said paper publication is not on the front side of the

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newspaper. Undisputedly, the said communication has not been sent to

the petitioner-Societies by hand.

16 It appears that as per the earlier scheduled program, the

petitioner-Societies have passed the Resolution of representative and

tried to submit it in the offce of Respondent No.3. However, said

resolution was not accepted since the State Government has postponed

the elections for three months. There is an offce endorsement to that

effect.

17 In view of the same, in my considered opinion, the

petitioner-Societies would remain unrepresented in the ensuring

elections to Respondent No.3-Bank for no fault of it.

18 In view of the same, I proceed to pass the following order:

(i) Writ Petition is hereby allowed in terms of prayer clause "B"

and "C".

(V.K.JADHAV) JUDGE

adb