Sri. Ramanna v. the State of Karnataka
Case brief
What is this about?
Karnataka High Court writ petition (CS-EL/M) by 60 members against exclusion of their names from the final eligible voter list for co-operative society elections; Rule 13(D)(2-A) Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Rules 1960; Section 70(2)(c) Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Act 1959; writ of mandamus; counting of votes and announcement of results; votes kept in separate sealed box; interim order dated 01.02.2025 permitting voting; eligibility/disqualification left open as question of fact; H.S. Raju v. State of Karnataka, 2022 (4) AKR 775, followed; HMT Employees Co-operative House Building Society Ltd.; Returning Officer; neutral citation NC: 2025:KHC:5536; bench: K.S. Hemalekha, J.
What did the court decide?
Writ petition disposed of: Returning Officer directed to count the votes including those cast by the petitioners and announce the results of the election scheduled on 02.02.2025; petitioners' votes to be kept in a separate sealed box after counting; eligibility of the petitioners to vote kept open to be decided in a dispute under Section 70(2)(c) of the Act, to be decided without influence of the interim order, with the effect of any exclusion of their votes on the final result to be taken into account; no view expressed on merits or demerits of their ineligibility.