Manmati Devi v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC24 Jul 2025CWJC/11535/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Bihar Co-operative Society Act 1935 Section 41(5); dissolution of Managing Committee of Bairiya PACS; five-year debarment from co-operative society election set aside; District Co-operative Officer East Champaran Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025 Annexure-4; Bihar State Election Authority direction to hold election expeditiously; Daroga Sahni vs State of Bihar CWJC No.16746 of 2015 judgment dated 13.09.2017 followed; Manmati Devi; Patna High Court CWJC No.11535 of 2025; Alok Kumar Sinha J; decision date 24-07-2025.

What did the court decide?

Five-year debarment portion of Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025 set aside; State Election Authority directed to hold election of office bearers of the Managing Committee of Bairiya PACS expeditiously; petitioner entitled to contest the election if otherwise not unsuited. ¶¶29

Manmati Devi Vs The State of Bihar — Patna HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the five-year debarment imposed on the petitioner from contesting the election of the Managing Committee of the Cooperative Society, as part of the District Co-operative Officer's order (Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025), is sustainable. +1 more

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Court's answer

The part of the order contained in Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025 (Annexure-4) passed by the District Co-operative Officer, East Champaran, Motihari, to the extent the petitioner has been debarred from contesting the election for a period of five years, is set aside.

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Ratio / Principle

The State Election Authority is directed to hold election of the office bearers of the Managing Committee of the society in question expeditiously.

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Key takeaways

The petitioner will be entitled to contest the election, if otherwise not unsuited.ratio¶¶27

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ application allowed. The petitioner challenged the order of the District Co-operative Officer, East Champaran, Motihari (Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025, Annexure-4), issued under Section 41(5) of the Bihar Co-operative Society Act, 1935, whereby the Managing Committee of Bairiya PACS was dissolved and the petitioner was debarred for five years from contesting the election of the Managing Committee. Placing reliance on this Court's judgment dated 13.09.2017 in Daroga Sahni & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar & Ors., CWJC No.16746 of 2015, where a similar issue was considered and election was directed to be held expeditiously with the petitioners entitled to contest if otherwise not unsuited, and counsel for the State Election Authority and the State having agreed to the proposition of law answered therein, the Court set aside the five-year debarment portion of the impugned order, directed the State Election Authority to hold the election of office bearers of the Managing Committee expeditiously, and held the petitioner entitled to contest the election if otherwise not unsuited.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.11535 of 2025

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Manmati Devi W/o Madan Sah, Village-Bairiya, P.O-Bairiya, P.S-Kesaria, District-East Champaran.

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... ... Petitioner/s

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Versus

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The State of Bihar through Secretary, Co-operative Department, Govt. of Bihar, New Secretariat, Patna.

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Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bihar, Patna.

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District Co-operative Officer, East Champaran, Motihari

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Bihar State Election Authority, 32, Hardings Road, Patna

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Bairiya Primary Agricultural Credit Co-operative societies, Bairiya, P.SKesaria, East Champaran, through its manager cum secretary of Bairiya Pacs.

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Md. Jahangir S/o Md Julfikar, Vill and P.O- Bairiya, P.S - Kesaria, East Champaran, elected member of managing committee of Bairiya Pacs cum Manager of the same Pacs.

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Nita Devi W/o Sri Narayan Yadav, Vill and P.O - Bairiya, P.S. -Kesaria, Ex chairman of the Bairiya Pacs.

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Sri Narayan Yadav S /o Late Juthan Rai Vill and P.O - Bairiya, P.S. -Kesaria, dist-East Champaran, the dean chairman of the Bairiya Pacs between 2007 to 2014

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Ramjit Rai S/o Devaki Rai Vill and P.O - Bairiya, P.S. -Kesaria, dist-East Champaran, elected chairman of Bariya Pacs.

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... ... Respondent/s

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====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Lalan Sharma, Advocate Mr. Arvind Kumar, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr.Government Pleader-06 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR SINHA ORAL ORDER

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2 24-07-2025 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

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counsel appearing for State Election Authority and learned counsel appearing for the State.

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The present writ application has been filed for

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Patna High Court CWJC No.11535 of 2025(2) dt.24-07-2025 2/4

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quashing the order passed by the District Cooperative Officer, East Champaran, Motihari issued under Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025 (Annexure-4) whereby and whereunder the District Co-operative Officer has not only dissolved the Managing Committee of the Bairiya PACS in view of the provision contained in Section 41(5) of the Bihar Co-operative Society Act, 1935 but also debarred the petitioner for a period of five years for contesting the election of the Managing Committee of the Cooperative Society. It is the later part by which the petitioner has been debarred for a period of five years from contesting the election of the Managing Committee, by which the petitioner is aggrieved and hence prays that an appropriate direction be given to the State Election Authority to hold the election of the PACS expeditiously as well as allow him to contest the election.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner places reliance on a judgment of this Court dated 13.09.2017 passed in the case of Daroga Sahni & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar & Ors. passed in CWJC No.16746 of 2015 in which similar issue had come up for consideration and this Court had directed the State Election Authority to hold election of the office bearers of the Managing Committee of the Society in question expeditiously and had

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Patna High Court CWJC No.11535 of 2025(2) dt.24-07-2025 3/4

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further held that the petitioners would be entitled to contest the election, if otherwise not unsuited. Learned counsel for the petitioner, therefore, submits that the present writ application may be disposed of in terms of the observation and finding given in this judgment.

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Learned counsel appearing for State Election Authority agrees to the proposition of law which has been answered by this Court vide judgment dated 13.09.2017 passed in CWJC No.16746 of 2015.

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Learned counsel appearing for the respondentsState also is of the same stand as that of State Election Authority on the proposition of law discussed above.

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For the reasons as given above, the present writ application is allowed and the part of the order contained in Memo No.920 dated 01.04.2025 (Annexure-4) passed by the District Co-operative Officer, East Champaran, Motihari to the extent the petitioner has been debarred from contesting the election for a period of five years is set aside. The State Election Authority is directed to hold election of the office bearers of the Managing Committee of the society in question expeditiously and the petitioner will be entitled to contest the election, if otherwise not unsuited.

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Patna High Court CWJC No.11535 of 2025(2) dt.24-07-2025 4/4

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The writ application stands allowed in the

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aforementioned terms.

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(Alok Kumar Sinha, J)

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Prakash Narayan U

Manmati Devi v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

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Manmati Devi v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

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