Madras High Court
R.Palanisamy vs The Tamil Nadu State Co-Operative on 27 July, 2023
W.A.No.4033 of 2019
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 27.07.2023
CORAM :
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D.KRISHNAKUMAR
AND
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE P.B.BALAJI
W.A.No.4033 of 2019
R.Palanisamy .. Appellant
v.
1. The Tamil Nadu State Co-operative
Societies Election Commission
rep. by its Commissioner
No.273, First Floor
Kamadhenu Super Market Building
Anna Salai
Teynampet
Chennai 600 018
2. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies
No.170, EVR Road
Radhakrishnan Nagar
Razaak Garden
SBI Officers Colony
Arumbakkam
Chennai 600 106
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
3. The Election Officer
E-2577 Naduveerapattu Primary
Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society
Cuddalore Main Road
Cuddalore 607 001
4. K.Maheswari
5. A.Valarmathi
6. M.Palaniammal
7. K.Kumar
8. K.M.Ramadas
9. M.Dhanasekaran
10.K.Gurunathan
11.N.Mahalingam
12.R.Sigamani
13.A.Vaithiyalingam
14.N.Ramalingam .. Respondents
Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, against the
order dated 21.10.2019 made in W.P.No.26617 of 2019.
For Appellant :: Mr.M.Jothikumar for
Mr.R.Rajamohan
For Respondents :: Mr.U.Karunakaran for R1
Mrs.Geetha Thamaraiselvan
Special Government Pleader for R2
Mr.M.R.Gokul Krishnan
Addl. Government Pleader for R3
No appearance for R4 to R14
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
JUDGMENT
(Judgment of the Court was made by D.KRISHNAKUMAR,J.)
This intra-Court appeal is directed against the impugned order passed
by the writ Court allowing the writ petition filed by the 14 th respondent
herein holding that the election conducted to the Naduveerapattu Primary
Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society is null and void with a further
direction to conduct fresh election as directed by the Zonal Committee.
2. Learned counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that when a
notification was issued for the conduct of election to the respondent-E.2577
Naduveerapattu Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society, 40
candidates filed their nominations and after scrutinizing the same, the
nominations of 11 persons were declared valid for the 11 posts and the
nominations of others were rejected as invalid and defective. At this stage,
the 14th respondent herein filed the writ petition questioning the conduct of
election to the society in question, on the ground that the Election Officer
has chosen 11 nominations of his choice and declared them as elected
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
unopposed. This allegation of the 14th respondent was objected to by the
third respondent by filing a counter affidavit stating that the nomination of
the 14th respondent was rejected on the date of scrutiny as defective, since
many of the columns were left unfilled and the signature of the proposer as
well as the seconder varies from the signature found in the admission
register. The learned counsel also submitted that when the appellant's
complaint of improper rejection of his nomination was directed to be
considered by the Zonal Committee constituted pursuant to the direction of
this Court, the Zonal Committee has recorded that the election process
should be continued from the stage of scrutiny of the nomination forms and
following the said direction in letter and spirit, the nomination papers were
scrutinized and the nomination of the 14 th respondent was rejected by the
third respondent-Election Officer. Moreover, it is a well settled legal
principle that the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
filed by the 14th respondent is not maintainable, once the results have been
declared and the elected candidates have assumed office, as he has to avail
the statutory remedy of raising a dispute before the competent authority
under Section 90 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act. Therefore,
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
the learned counsel submitted that the writ petition filed by the 14 th
respondent ought not to have been entertained by the writ Court and for the
aforesaid reasons, the impugned order is liable to be set aside.
3. There is no representation for the 14th respondent/writ petitioner.
4. The learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the third
respondent also submitted that when the Division Bench of this Court has
passed an order directing the Government to constitute the Zonal
Committees to look into the various complaints filed by the aggrieved
persons, the appellant herein also approached the Zonal Committee for
redressal of his grievance and the same was entertained with a direction to
the Election Officer to continue the election process from the stage of
scrutiny of the nomination forms. Pursuant to the said direction, the third
respondent has scrutinized the nominations of all the 40 candidates and
finally declared the nominations of 11 persons including the appellant as
elected unopposed and the said elected candidates have also assumed office.
Therefore, the writ petition filed by the 14th respondent is not maintainable
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
and his remedy is only to raise a dispute under Section 90 of the Tamil Nadu
Co-operative Societies Act, if so aggrieved.
5. Having heard the learned counsels appearing for the parties, the
only point that arises for consideration before this Court is whether the writ
petition filed by the 14th respondent against election dispute is maintainable
under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
6. This issue is no longer res intregra, as the Division Bench of this
Court in W.A.No.3299 of 2019 dated 18.04.2023 (R.Vasanthi v. A.Senthil
Murugan and others), following the earlier orders of the Division Bench in
W.A.No.33444 of 2018 dated 10.09.2018 and in W.A.No.1282 of 2013
dated 07.06.2013, has clearly held that the writ petition is not maintainable
against election disputes. Even the Full Bench of the Karnataka High Court
in the case of Maruthi v. State of Karnataka reported in ILR 1990 KAR
1378 and in the case of B.Gurumallappa v. State of Karnataka reported in
ILR 1991 KAR 577, has held that the High Court can exercise power in
election disputes only in the most extraordinary circumstances, as the
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
aggrieved party has to avail of the remedy by way of election petition which
is a statutory remedy. Further, one of us (D.Krishnakumar,J.) also had an
occasion to consider the said issue in the case of K.J.Cherian v. The State of
Tamil Nadu represented by its Secretary to Government, Cooperation,
Food Consumer Protection Department, Chennai and others reported in
2017 SCC Online Mad 25405, by holding that a writ petition cannot be
entertained and the remedy for the aggrieved person is only to approach the
competent authority by way of an election petition/dispute under Section 90
of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act.
7. In the case on hand, on the same lines, we are of the view that the
writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India filed by the 14 th
respondent herein cannot be entertained, as the 14th respondent has got an
effective and efficacious remedy under Section 90 of the Tamil Nadu
Cooperative Societies Act. Therefore, the order of the writ Court is liable to
be set aside. In fine, the order of the writ Court is set aside and the writ
appeal stands allowed with liberty to the 14 th respondent herein to avail the
alternative remedy, if so advised, by way of a dispute under Section 90 of
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act before the competent authority,
within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Consequently, C.M.P.No.25285 of 2019 is closed. There is no order as to
costs.
(D.K.K.,J.) (P.B.B,J.)
Index : yes/no 27.07.2023
Neutral citation : yes/no
ss
To
1. The Commissioner
Tamil Nadu State Co-operative
Societies Election Commission
No.273, First Floor
Kamadhenu Super Market Building
Anna Salai, Teynampet
Chennai 600 018
2. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies
No.170, EVR Road
Radhakrishnan Nagar
Razaak Garden, SBI Officers Colony
Arumbakkam
Chennai 600 106
____________
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
W.A.No.4033 of 2019
3. The Election Officer
E-2577 Naduveerapattu Primary
Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society
Cuddalore Main Road
Cuddalore 607 001
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W.A.No.4033 of 2019
D.KRISHNAKUMAR,J.
AND
P.B.BALAJI,J.
ss
W.A.No.4033 of 2019
27.07.2023
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