Dismissed

Mohammed Ashraf v. State Co-Operative Election Commission

Kerala HC18 Jan 2019WP(C)/1451/2019

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Arakkuparamba Service Co-operative Bank members sought certiorari to quash the Returning Officer's rejection of their nominations for a director seat reserved for depositor-maintainers of a Rs. 10,000/- fixed deposit. The Court held they only held savings account balances and rejected their petition, dismissing the writ.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition fails and is accordingly dismissed; the petitioners are directed to approach the Cooperative Arbitration Court for other disputes.

Mohammed Ashraf Vs State Co-Operative Election Commission — Election Law | Kerala HC (2019)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL K.NARENDRAN

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FRIDAY ,THE 18TH DAY OF JANUARY 2019 / 28TH POUSHA, 1940

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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PETITIONERS :

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1 MOHAMMED ASHRAF AGED 55 YEARS NADAKALATHIL,ARAKKUPARAMBA.P.O, PERINTHALMANNA TALUK,MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.

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2 YOONUS.E.,ERICKALIKAL, ERICKALIKAL,ARAKKUPARAMBA.P.O,PERINTHALMANNA TALUK,MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.

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BY ADV. SRI.D.SOMASUNDARAM

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RESPONDENTS:

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1 STATE CO-OPERATIVE ELECTION COMMISSION THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695001.

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2 RETURNING OFFICER ARAKKUPARAMBA SERVICE CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD, ARAKKUPARAMBA.P.O, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT,PIN-679322.

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SRI K.P.HARISH, SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER

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THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 18.01.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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JUDGMENT

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The petitioners, who are members of the

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Arakkuparamba Service Co-operative Bank, which is a Society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 and the rules made thereunder, have filed this writ petition under Article 226 of

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the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of certiorari to quash Exts.P5 and P6 orders of the 2^nd respondent Returning Officer, whereby their nominations to contest for one seat in the Board of Directors of the said Society, which is reserved for depositors having deposit of Rs.10,000/- and above, in the election scheduled to be held on 03.02.2019, in terms of Ext.P1 election notification dated 26.12.2018 issued by the 1^st respondent State Co-operative Election Commission, stand rejected. The petitioners have also sought for a declaration that rejection of their nomination as they do not have fixed deposit in the Society for Rs.10,000/- and above is

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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illegal and unsustainable.

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came up for admission, the learned Senior

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Government Pleader was directed to get instructions.

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petitioners and also the learned Senior Government Pleader appearing for the respondents.

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consideration in this writ petition is as to

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whether any interference is warranted on Exts.P5

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and P6 orders of the 2^nd respondent Returning Officer, whereby the nomination made by the petitioners to contest for one seat in the Board of Directors of the Society, which is reserved for depositors having deposit of Rs.10,000/- and above, in the election scheduled to be held on

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03.02.2019, in terms of Ext.P1 election

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notification, stand rejected.

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The petitioners have submitted their

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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nominations for one seat in the Board of Directors

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of the Society, reserved in Ext.P1 election notification dated 26.12.2018 for depositors having deposit of Rs.10,000/- and above. Such a reservation has been provided in Section 28 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, by inserting sub-section (1C), vide the Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2010. Sub-section (1C) of Section 28 of the Act reads thus:

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“(1C) Notwithstanding anything contained in the bye-laws of a Primary Credit Society or an Urban Co-operative Bank, one seat in the committee of each such society shall be reserved for the members having a deposit of ten thousand rupees and above.”

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As per Ext.P4 certificate dated 14.01.2019

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issued by the Secretary of the Society, the 1^st petitioner Mohammed Ashraf is having a savings

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account with the Society, in which, as on 14.01.2019, he has maintained a balance of

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Rs.14,733/-. Similarly, as per Ext.P4(a) certificate dated 15.01.2019, the 2^nd petitioner

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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Yoonus E is having a savings account with the Society, in which, as on 14.01.2019, he has maintained a balance of Rs.11,278/-. The learned

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Senior Government Pleader, on instructions from the 2^nd respondent Returning Officer would submit that, the 2^nd petitioner made a fixed deposit in the Society for Rs.10,000/- at 3.35 p.m, on 14.01.2019. The learned Senior Government Pleader would point out that, as per Ext.P1 election

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notification, nominations will have to be submitted on 14.01.2019 from 11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

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Clause (d) of Rule 47 of the Kerala Co-

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operative Societies Rules mandates that, notwithstanding anything contained in clauses (a)

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to (c), the committee of the society shall primarily be responsible for the maintenance and safety of all accounts, records, cash and other assets of the society. It shall be the duty of the committee to see that the officers concerned

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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discharge their functions and perform their duties

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as laid down in the rules and the bye-laws.

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Sub-section (1C) of Section 28 of the

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Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, which starts

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with a non-obstante clause, require a Primary Credit Society or an Urban Co-operative Bank to have one seat in the committee of such society reserved for members having a deposit of Rs.10,000/- or above. The objective of sub-section (1C) of Section 28 of the Act is to protect the interest of the depositors in a Primary Credit Society or an Urban Co-operative Bank by having their representative in the committee of such society.

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In the instant case, after the insertion

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of sub-section (1C) of Section 28A of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, the bye-laws of Arakkuparamba Service Co-operative Bank, the Society in question, was amended on 08.10.2011, as evidenced by Ext.P7. As per Clause 31(2) of the

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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amended bye-laws, one seat in the Board of

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Directors of the Society is reserved for members having fixed deposit of Rs.10,000/- and above.

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When the reservation under sub-section (1C) of Section 28 of the Act, read with Clause 31(2) of the amended bye-laws, is one provided for members of the Society having fixed deposit of Rs.10,000/- or above, the 1^st petitioner, who has maintained a balance of Rs.14,733/- as on 14.01.2019, in his savings account or the 2^nd petitioner, who has maintained a balance of Rs.11,278/-, as on 14.01.2019, in his savings account and made a fixed deposit in the Society for Rs.10,000/-, on 14.01.2019, at 3.35 p.m, do not satisfy the eligibility criteria for submission of nomination to one seat reserved in the Board of Directors of the Society for members having a deposit of Rs.10,000/- and above.

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In such circumstances, the rejection of

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the nominations made by the petitioners, vide

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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Exts.P5 and P6 orders of the 2^nd respondent Returning Officer, warrants no interference of this Court, in this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

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In the result, this writ petition fails and the same is accordingly dismissed; however, without prejudice to the right of the petitioners to raise any other dispute arising in connection with the election to the Managing Committee of the Society, conducted in terms of Ext.P1 election notification issued by the 1^st respondent State Cooperative Election Commission, before the Cooperative Arbitration Court, by invoking the statutory remedy available under Section 69 of the Act, within a period of one month from the date of election.

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Sd/-

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ANIL K.NARENDRAN,JUDGE

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AV/18/1

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WP(C).No. 1451 of 2019

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APPENDIX

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PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:

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EXHIBIT P1	TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION AS PER ORDER NO.E(2)9521/2018/SCEC DATED 26- 12-2018.
EXHIBIT P2	TRUE COPY OF THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT DATED 14.1.2019 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT WITH REGARD TO THE FIRST PETITIONER.
EXHIBIT P3	TRUE COPY OF THE SIMILAR ACKNOWLEDGMENT ISSUED TO THE 2ND PETITIONER.
EXHIBIT P4	A TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE DATED 14-1-2019 ISSUED TO THE 1ST PETITIONER
EXHIBIT P4(a)	A TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE DATED 14-1-2019 ISSUED TO THE 2ND PETITIONER
EXHIBIT P5	A TRUE COPY OF THE DECISION TAKEN ON FIRST PETITIONER'S NOMINATION
EXHIBIT P6	A TRUE COPY OF THE DECISION TAKEN ON 2ND PETITIONER'S NOMINATION
EXHIBIT P7	TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT CLAUSE OF THE BYELAWS OF THE BANK.

Mohammed Ashraf v. State Co-Operative Election Commission

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Mohammed Ashraf v. State Co-Operative Election Commission

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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