Gauhati High Court
Akkadas Ali Talukder vs The State Of Assam And 5 Ors on 10 June, 2022
Author: Manish Choudhury
Bench: Manish Choudhury
Page No.# 1/6
GAHC010113662022
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WP(C)/3888/2022
AKKADAS ALI TALUKDER
S/O- MASADDAR ALI TALUKDER
R/O-VILLAGE TARAPUR MAZUMDAR BAZAR,
P.O- TARAPUR PART-VII,
P.S- SILCHAR,
DIST- CACHAR, ASSAM
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS.
REPRESENTED BY THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVT.
OF ASSAM, COOPERATIVE DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-6
2:THE REGISTRAR
OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
ASSAM
KHANAPARA
GUWAHATI-22
3:THE ZONAL JOINT REGISTRAR
OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
CACHAR
KARIMGANJ AND HAILAKANDI
P.O-SILCHAR
DIST-CACHAR
ASSAM
PIN-788001
4:THE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
CACHAR
Page No.# 2/6
SILCHAR
PIN-788001
5:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
CACHAR
P.O-SILCHAR
DIST-CACHAR
ASSAM
PIN-788001
6:THE SECRETARY
TARAPUR COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES LTD.
P.O- TARAPUR
P.S- SILCHAR
DIST- CACHAR
ASSAM
PIN-78800
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. L R MAZUMDER
Advocate for the Respondent : SC, CO OP
BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY
ORDER
Date : 10-06-2022 Heard Mr. L.R. Mazumder, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. S.K. Talukdar, learned Standing Counsel, Co-operation Department for the respondent nos. 1-4; and Mr. S. Baruah, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent no. 5.
2. The petitioner has approached this Court by this writ petition under Page No.# 3/6 Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging a notice dated 01.06.2022 and a Corrigendum dated 03.06.2022 issued by the respondent no. 6. By the notice dated 01.06.2022, the respondent no. 6 has intimated that every such shareholder-member of the Society viz. Tarapur Co-operative Society, District - Cachar ['the Society', for short] will be eligible to participate in the election who has the blue colored identity card. The notice has further indicated that a shareholder-member who did not attend the Annual General Meeting [AGM] of the Society at least on two occasions would not be eligible to submit their nomination papers. Certain modifications to the notice dated 01.06.2022 have been made by the Corrigendum dated 03.06.2022.
3. The petitioner has stated that he is a shareholder-member of the Society viz. Tarapur Co-operative Society and he was issued an identity card earlier by the Secretary of the Society. A notice was issued by the respondent nos. 6 on 28.05.2022 whereby it was informed that the AGM/Election of the Society would be held on 12.06.2022. The grievance of the petitioner is to the effect that the notice has not been widely circulated and the Voter List of the members of the Society has not been correctly prepared. The petitioner has stated that he made a complaint before the respondent no. 4 on 01.06.2022 by bringing into his notice a number of irregularities that was committed in preparing the voter list of the Society but the same was not considered by the respondent no. 4 till date. The petitioner has stated that he had submitted another complaint before the respondent no. 3 on 03.06.2022 complaining about the issuance of the notice dated 01.06.2022 by the respondent no. 6 whereby only those shareholders with blue colored identity card have been allowed to cast their votes in the AGM/Election of the Society, scheduled on Page No.# 4/6 12.06.2022.
4. Mr. G. Uddin, learned counsel who has appeared, on the strength of a caveat, on behalf of the Chairman of the Society has submitted that the process of preparation of the lists of member having the right to vote and a list of voters without having the right to vote in terms of Section 26 [3] of the Assam Co- operative Societies Act, 2007 was undertaken as early as in the month of April, 2022. A copy of notice dated 12.04.2022, published by the respondent no. 6 then, has been placed on record by Mr. Uddin, learned counsel appearing for the Chairman of the Society. By the notice dated 12.04.2022, it was informed to all concerned that a draft voters list had been prepared and hanged in the notice board of the Society for holding of the AGM/Election of the Society for the year :
2022 - 2023. It was thereby informed that if there was any mistake or there was inclusion of any dead person in the draft voters list, complaints/objection could be submitted on or before 30.04.2022. It was further informed that only those shareholder-members would be eligible to participate who would be issued blue colored identity card in place of earlier red colored identity cards. The last date of submission of complaints/objection was up to 30.04.2022.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to show that the petitioner who has claimed to be a shareholder of the Society, had submitted any complaint pursuant to the notice dated 12.04.2022 issued by the respondent no. 6. It is only after the notice dated 28.05.2022 has been published by the respondent no. 6, stating that the AGM/Election of the Society would be held on 19.06.2022, the petitioner has sprung into action belatedly and had submitted a complaint each before the respondent no. 4 on 01.06.2022 Page No.# 5/6 and the respondent no. 3 on 03.06.2022 respectively.
6. Mr. Talukdar, learned departmental counsel has submitted that the petitioner did not submit any complaint in response to the notice dated 12.04.2022 and the complaint stated to have been submitted on 01.06.2022 and 03.06.2022 before the respondent no. 4 and the respondent no. 3 respectively can be termed as belated ones. If the petitioner has any grievance, a remedy is available to the petitioner to seek redressal under Rule 27 of the Assam Co-operative Societies' Election Rules, 2019.
7. Rule 27 of the Assam Co-operative Societies' Election Rules, 2019 ['the Election Rules, 2019', for short] has provided for 'Redressal of Dispute'. Rule 27[a] of the Election Rules, 2019 has laid down that any dispute related to election of a co-operative society may be submitted within 3 [three] days from the date of declaration of the results, before the Election Authority. Rule 27[b] of the Election Rules, 2019 has prescribed that the Election Authority shall make an enquiry upon the dispute on the basis of the relevant records and pass necessary order[s]. The term, 'Election Authority' has been defined Rule 2[f] of the Election Rules, 2019.
8. Considering the facts that the petitioner did not submit any complaint in response to the notice dated 12.04.2022 published by the respondent no. 6 against the draft voters list of the Society; that the petitioner had submitted the complaints against the voters list of the Society belatedly on 01.06.2022 and 03.06.2022 respectively; and a remedy is available to the petitioner under Rule 27 of the Assam Co-operative Societies' Election Rules, 2019, this Court is of the Page No.# 6/6 considered view that the petitioner shall approach the Election Authority, defined under Rule 2[f] of the Election Rules, 2019 within the stipulated time period of 3 [three] days from the date of declaration of the results, in case he has any objection relating to the election of the Society concerned. It is observed that in the event the petitioner submits any objection relating to the election of the concerned Society within the stipulated period from the date of declaration of the results of the AGM/Election of the Society scheduled on 19.06.2022 before the Election Authority, the Election Authority shall make an enquiry upon the objection on the basis of the relevant records and pass necessary orders as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of 4 [four] weeks from the date of receipt of such objection from the petitioner.
9. This order disposes of this writ petition.
JUDGE Comparing Assistant