T R Patil v. the State of Karnataka
Co-operative society election – Exclusion of members' names from final voters list
Case brief
What is this about?
Neutral citation NC: 2025:KHC:8057. Keywords: writ petitions under Articles 226 and 227, Constitution of India; CS-EL/M; Shiva Credit Co-operative Society Ltd., Honnali Taluk, Davanagere District; exclusion from final voters list; no individual notice; Rule 13(D)(2-A), Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Rules, 1960; eligible voters list; counting of votes; separate sealed box; Returning Officer; announcement of election results dated 09.02.2025; election dispute under Section 70(2)(c), Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Act, 1959; eligibility to vote kept open; interim order creates no finding on eligibility; H.S. Raju v. State of Karnataka, 2022 (4) AKR 775 (Co-ordinate Bench, relied upon); Justice K.S. Hemalekha; writ petitions disposed of with directions.
What did the court decide?
Writ petitions disposed of with directions: the Returning Officer to count the votes including those cast by the petitioners and announce the results of the election scheduled on 09.02.2025; the petitioners' votes to be kept in a separate sealed box after counting; eligibility of the petitioners to vote kept open for adjudication in a dispute under Section 70(2)(c) of the Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Act, 1959, to be decided uninfluenced by the interim order, with the effect of any exclusion of such votes on the final result to be considered before final orders.