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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.3906 OF 2011
Adiwasi Seva Sahakari Sanstha,
Halda, Registration No.1425,
PO : Paras Tola, Taluka :
Arjuni Mor, District Gondia,
through its Representative
Shri Kashik Jama Abdul Gaffar
Qureshi, resident of Junewani,
PO : Parastola, District Gondia. ... Petitioner
- Versus -
1) Hon'ble Collector, Gondia,
District Gondia.
2) The Gondia District Central
Cooperative Bank Limited,
Gondia, through its Chief
Executive Officer. ... Respondents
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Shri S.K. Tambde, Advocate for the petitioner.
Shri P.V. Bhoyar, Assistant Government Pleader for the
respondent no.1.
Shri M.V. Samarth, Advocate for the respondent no.2.
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CORAM : R.M. SAVANT, J.
DATED : AUGUST 11, 2011
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ORAL JUDGMENT :
Rule, with the consent of the learned Counsel
for the parties made returnable forthwith and heard.
2) The above petition takes exception to the
order dated 2/8/2011 passed by the Collector, Gondia
whereby the Application of the petitioner Society for
inclusion of the name of its delegate in the voters’ list
for participating in the elections to the Board of
Directors of the Gondia District Central Cooperative
Bank Ltd. came to be rejected.
3) In terms of the election programme for the
said elections, the provisional list of voters was
published on 18/5/2011. The petitioner Society is one
of the Primary Societies, which is entitled to participate
in the elections to the Board of Directors of the said
Bank. In the provisional list of voters, against the
name of the petitioner, there was a blank, thereby
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indicating that there was no delegate insofar as
petitioner was concerned. The petitioner took an
objection insofar as non-inclusion of its delegate is
concerned by its letter dated 8/7/2011 forwarding
therewith the Resolution passed by the petitioner
Society on 7/7/2011 and thereby indicating that one
Kashif Jama Abdul Gaffur Qureshi is its delegate and
that his name should be included in the final list of
voters. The said Application of the petitioner came to
be rejected by the Collector by the impugned order
dated 2/8/2011 on the ground that in terms of
Rule 6(5) of the Maharashtra Specified Cooperative
Societies Elections to Committees Rules, 1971, the
name of the delegate in Form 1A was to be furnished
by 29/6/2011 and that having not been done by the
petitioner, the name of its representative could not be
included.
4) Insofar as the petitioner is concerned, there is
no dispute that it has passed a Resolution on 7/7/2011
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in favour of said Kashif Jama Abdul Gaffur Qureshi to
be its delegate in the elections to the Board of
Directors of the Gondia District Central Cooperative
Bank Ltd. The question is whether the name of the
petitioner’s delegate can now be included in view of
the fact that final voters’ list has been published on
5/8/2011. In that regard, it would be relevant to advert
to sub-rules (5), (6), (7) of Rule 6 of the said Rules.
Sub-rule 5 postulates that any person, who is desirous
of being registered as a voter, may apply in writing to
the Collector in Form I-A within a period of fifteen days
from the date of display of final list of voters under
Rule 7. Sub-rule (6) contemplates that every such
application received by the Collector shall be
forwarded by him within three days of the date of
receipt by him to the District Deputy Registrar for
enquiry. The District Deputy Registrar thereafter shall
cause an enquiry to be made into such application and
submit a report to the Collector within seven days from
the date of receipt of application by him from the
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Collector. Sub-rule (7) inter alia contemplates that the
Collector shall after considering the application and
the report of the District Deputy Registrar, give his
decision in writing to the persons concerned before the
first date fixed for making nominations. If the Collector
decides that the name of the applicant should be
registered as a voter, he shall accordingly modify the
list finalized under sub-rule (4) and the list so
modified, shall be treated as final list of voters.
Hence, it is not as if the Collector is powerless after the
final list of voters has been published.
5) In the instant case, as mentioned
hereinabove, there is a blank appearing insofar as
petitioner is concerned, thereby meaning that there is
no delegate of the petitioner, who can participate in
the elections of the Gondia District Central Cooperative
Bank Ltd. The rejection of the petitioner’s objection
has taken place much prior to the finalization of the
voters’ list on 5/8/2011, i.e. by the impugned order
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dated 2/8/2011. It is also pertinent to note that under
Rule 5 of the said Rules, even the delegate can be
changed in terms of the said Rule, which is not later
than seven days before the date appointed by the
Collector under Rule 16 of the said Rules for making
nominations. In the instant case, as the impugned
order discloses, the objection of the petitioner has
been rejected on the ground that the nomination of the
said delegate of the petitioner has not been furnished
in Form I-A. In my view, the same would be taking a
hyper-technical view of the matter as the petitioner
had made an application on 8/7/2011 along with
Resolution passed on 7/7/2011, and the question
therefore ought to have been of substance rather than
of form. The instant case is also not a case where two
persons are vying to be the delegate of the petitioner
Society for participating in the elections. In my view,
therefore, the petitioner cannot be left out of the arena
insofar as the said elections to the Board of Directors
of the Gondia District Central Cooperative Bank
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Limited are concerned.
6) Since the elections are at the stage wherein
nominations are presently being filed and the last date
for the same being 16/8/2011, without so disturbing
the election process, it would be just and proper to
allow the petitioner
ig to send its delegate for
participation in the elections to the Board of Directors
of the Gondia District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd.
Learned Counsel appearing for the respondent no.2
Bank Shri Samarth fairly states that non-inclusion of
the name of the representative of the petitioner does
not appear to be justifiable in the context of the
material on record. The learned Assistant Government
Pleader though opposes the petition, the said
opposition in the teeth of the aforesaid facts is without
substance.
7) In that view of the matter, the impugned
order dated 2/8/2011 passed by the Collector is
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quashed and set aside and the Collector is directed to
include the name of the petitioner’s delegate Kashif
Jama Abdul Gaffur Qureshi in the final list of voters.
8) Rule is accordingly made absolute in the
aforesaid terms with parties to bear their respective
costs.
The learned Assistant Government Pleader to
communicate the aforesaid development to the
Collector with expeditious despatch.
Issuance of certified copy is expedited.
JUDGE
khj
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