ORDER
1. This is a pathetic case which reflects on the successive Governments and it shows how the important institutions are being dealt with. The following facts are not disputed:
2. That, A.P. State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited, hereinafter referred as ‘Federation’, is a society registered under the provisions of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964. The federation consists of all District Marketing Societies, Primary Marketing Societies and other consumer stores as its members. The elected Presidents of these bodies will elect the members of the Managing Committee of the Federation. Elections to these bodies were completed in 1996, but the elections to the Federation were not conducted by the respondents. Even before 1996 the elections were not conducted to the said Federation.
3. In view of the importance of this case, by an order I requested the Advocate General to address the Court. The learned Advocate General has accepted that the elections were last held to the Society in the year 1971 and the term of the members of the Committee expired in the year 1974. Therefore, it is an admitted case that for the last 23 years no elections have been held to the society. By this writ petition the petitioners have sought a direction to the respondents to hold elections to the society.
4. 1 have heard the learned Counsel for the parties including the learned Advocate General. Counter has also been filed.
5. Two objections have been taken in the counter. One that the Government wanted to amend the bye-laws before holding elections. 23 years have passed and bye laws have not been amended. Another objection is that the Society was running in loss and the cumulative losses have reached to Rs.5.00 crores and the Government wants that the Society should be back on rails before elections are held. I do not know who is responsible for the losses. As the Federation is being managed by the bureaucrats for the last 23 years and they seek for the time to hold elections, if these bureaucrats are not responsible for these losses, who then, is the members who were responsible for managing the committee before 23 years? These aft the questions to be answered by the bureaucrats.
6. It has further been stated by the Government that, for effecting changes in bye-laws a committee had been appointed. That committee has also given its report 2 years back, but the Government is yet to come to a decision.
7. Without going into the details as to whether the committee can be best managed by the bureaucrats or by elected representatives, let me examine the position in terms of the Act whether the Government and the respondents were within their rights to hold the control of the committee for a period of 23 years. Section 31(2)(b) of the Co-operative Societies Act lays down that “It shall be the duly of the Registrar to hold elections to the office of the members of the committee before the expiry of their term”. So, in terms of this section it is the duty of the Registrar to hold elections of the members of the committee before the period of the committee members expires. Section 32 gives the power to supersede a committee but the period of supersession is not unlimited. This is prescribed by Section 32(7)(a) which says that, in no case the Registrar or the Government can control a society for more than three years. The present society is being controlled by the bureaucrats for the last 23 years and the learned AdvocateGeneral has failed to show me any power under the Co-operative Societies Act or under the Rules made therein whether the respondents could hold the control of the society beyond 3 years.
8. The petitioners have not challenged the actions taken for the last 20 years by the respondents as managers of the society. Therefore, I am not going into the question as to what would be the effect on the actions taken by the respondents for the last 20 years, but, at the same lime, I cannot hold back myself to say that the society is being managed illegally without any mandate of law. Democratic institutions cannot be handled in such a callous manner.
9. Under these circumstances, I allow this writ petition and direct the respondents to end the present management forthwith. The present management’s cessation and holding the elections to the society should be done within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No costs.