Firidul Islam Tapadar and 3 Ors v. The State of Assam and 6 Ors

ORDER Date : 14.06.2023

Heard Mr. S.B. Laskar, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. G. Bordoloi, learned standing counsel for the Cooperation Department, respondent nos.1 to 4.

¶2The petitioners claimed themselves to be the share holders of Monipur Cooperative Society Ltd. It is projected that no Annual General Meeting ('AGM' for short) has been held in respect of the said society since 2019 and that there are various irregularities in the management of the said cooperative Page No.# 4/6 society and the Audit Report for the previous year has not been submitted to the AGM for approval. It is submitted that the respondent no.7, namely, Abdul Wahid Laskar is holding the post of Secretary of the said society illegally. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that as per his instructions, the respondent no.7 is aged 70 years and he is a pensioner, for which documents are annexed in the writ petition and by referring to the Rule 4 relating to the terms of employment and working conditions of the employees of cooperative societies framed under the Assam Cooperative Societies' Act, 2007 ('2007 Act' for short), it is provided that the maximum age of recruitment in society shall be the same as may be specified by the State Govt. for its employees from time to time. Accordingly, it is submitted that the respondent no.7 is illegally holding the charge of Secretary of the said society and as AGM has not been hold since 2019, by operation of Clause-6 of Section 41 of the 2007 Act, the term of the Board of Directors is deemed to have expired. Accordingly, it is submitted that the notice for election, which was issued by the respondent no.7 is illegal as the election could have been initiated only by the departmental officers. It is also submitted that as per Clause-2 of Section 40 of the 2007 Act, as no AGM was hold since the year 2019, the present Board of Directors would not be eligible for the Directorship in the said cooperative society. Hence, it is submitted that by illegally issuing notice for election, the respondent no.7 has secured nomination of 15 Board Members, whose names are indicated in paragraph 11 of the writ petition and that 4 out of 15 accepted nominations are the cousins of the respondent no.7 and one is his nephew.

¶3Accordingly, by filing this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have questioned the legality of the notice dated 2.05.2023 to hold election of Monipur Cooperative Society Ltd. and that Page No.# 5/6 for a direction for removal o the respondent no.7 from the post of Secretary and to direct the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Hailakandi (respondent no.4) to ensure preparation of correct voters list and to take up the election process.

¶4The learned standing counsel for the Cooperation Department has submitted that as per the provisions of section 27 of the Assam Cooperative Election Rules, 2019, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam is the competent authority for the purpose of adjudicating issues arising out of elections of the cooperative societies. Accordingly, it is submitted that the petitioner be relegated to approach the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam (respondent no.2) to address the grievance of the petitioners.

¶5Countering the said submission, the learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the date of AGM and election is fixed on

15.06.2023 and as only 15 nominations have been accepted, there is every likelihood that there would be no election.

¶6On consideration of the provisions of Rule 27 of the Assam Cooperative Election Rules, 2019, the Court finds that the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam is the competent authority in deciding disputes arising out of elections, it would be appropriate to relegate the petitioners to submit a representation before the respondent no.2 because it prima facie appears that the issues raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners has sufficient force.

¶7Nonetheless, as the petitioners can avail alternative and efficacious remedy before the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam (respondent no.2), the Court deem appropriate that the petitioners be relegated to approach the Page No.# 6/6 Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Assam (respondent no.2) by submitting a fresh representation. It is provided that on such representation being filed by the petitioners, it is hoped that the respondent no.2 would make expeditious steps to adjudicate the grievances raised by the petitioner within a time bound manner and as the said authority also has the power to pass interim orders, it would be open to the said authority to pass and appropriate order in accordance with law.

¶8Accordingly, the matter stands disposed of at the 'motion' stage without issuance of notice on the respondents. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/6 GAHC010127192023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/3369/2023o FIRIDULoISLAMoTAPADARoANDo3oORS.o S/O-oFOKORoUDDINoTAPADAR,o VILL.oRAMPUR,oP.O.-oKARICHERRA,o P.S.-oKATLICHERRA,o DIST.-oHAILAKANDI,oASSAM,o PIN-o788165. 2:oPARIMALoCHANDRAoSEN oS/O.oLATEoPRONAYoCHANDRAoSEN o VILL.oMADAVPUR oP.O.-oKARICHERRA o P.O.oRAMNATHPUR o DIST.-oHAILAKANDI oASSAM o PIN-o788165. 3:oMACHUMoAHMEDoBARBHUIYA oS/O.oACHABoUDDINoBARBHUIYA o VILL.-oALOICHERRAoPART-IV o P.O.-oKARICHERRA oP.S.-oKATLICHERRA o DIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM oPIN-o788165. 4:oBADURLoHUDAoLASKAR oS/O-oBAZRULoISLAMoLASKAR PageoNo.#o2/6 o VILL-oALOICHERRAoPART-IV o P.O-oKARICHERRA oP.S.-oKATLICHERRA o DIST.-oHAILAKANDI oASSAM o PIN-o788165o VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo6oORS.o REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.o OFoASSAM,o COOPERATIONoDEPARTMENT,o DISPUR,oGUWAHATI-06. 2:THEoREGISTRARoOFoCOOPERATIVEoSOCIETIES oASSAM oKHANAPARA oGUWAHATI-22. 3:THEoZONALoJOINToREGISTRARoOFoCOOPERATIVEoSOCIETIES oSILCHARoZONE oSILCHAR oDIST.-oCACHAR oASSAM o PIN-o788001. 4:THEoASST.oREGISTRARoOFoCOOPERATIVEoSOCIETIES oHAILAKANDI oDIST.-oHAILAKANDI oASSAM o PIN-o788151. 5:THEoOFFICERoONoMANAGEMENToOFoMONIPURoS.S.oLIMITED oP.O-oKARICHERRAoBAZAR o DIST.-oHAILAKANDI oASSAM o PIN-o788165. 6:THEoSECRETARY Page No.# 3/6 MONIPUR S.S. LIMITED P.O.- KARICHERRA BAZAR DIST.- HAILAKANDI ASSAM PIN- 788165. 7:ABDUL WAHID LASKAR S/O- LT. JUAHIR ALI LASKAR VILL.- ALOICHERRA PART-IV P.O.- DARIARGHAT DISTRICT- HAILAKANDI ASSAM PIN- 788165 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S B LASKAR Advocate for the Respondent : SC, CO OP BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KALYAN RAI SURANA