Section 26 in The Orissa Co-operative Societies Rules, 1965
26. [ General Body and Meeting thereof. [Substituted vide Orissa Gazette Extraordinary No 500, dated 23.4.1997.]
(1)General Body in relation to a Society shall consist of all members excluding the nominal members in the case of a Primary Society and the President or Vice-President or representative, as the case may be, of member Societies, individual members, deemed members as per provisions of Sub-Section (1-a) of Section 16 of the Act, the Government nominees and the heads of the local authorities or other body corporates, if any, in the case of Central or Apex Societies.(2)Every Society, the area of operation or the membership of which exceeds a revenue sub-division or one thousand members shall have a representative smaller General Body.(3)(a)The representative smaller General Body shall consist of the Government nominees, if any, and the elected representatives of the individual and non-individual members of the Society respectively :Provided that the total number of members of the representative smaller General Body shall, in no case be less than fifty and more than one hundred.(b)The number of representative to be elected by the individual and non-individual members shall bear such proportions to their total members respectively, as may be decided from time to time by the Committee, so as to ensure equitable representation of all classes of members of the Society.(c)In every case where a Society is required to constitute a representative smaller General Body in accordance with the provisions of Section 27, the Chief Executive of the Society shall hold elections and constitute the said body within four months from the date of coming into force of the Orissa Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Rules, 1997.(d)The voting at the elections shall be by means of secret ballot and polling shall take place simultaneously at such places as may be decided by the Committee having regard to the convenience of the members to exercise their right of voting.(e)The procedure as laid down in Orissa Co-operative Societies (Elections to the Committees) Rules, 1992 relating to the election of members of the Committee shall, apply mutatis and mutandis to the election of representatives to the smaller General Body.(f)The tenure of the representatives to the smaller General Body shall be such as may be fixed by the Committee.(g)A representative to the smaller General Body shall cease to be so, if he ceases or resigns from the membership of the Society or dies or refuses in writing to function as such and upon such cessation another representative shall be elected in his place.(h)The reference to the General Body of a Society wherever occurring in the Act, Rules and the Bye-Laws, shall mean a reference to a representative smaller General Body in every case where such a smaller Body has been constituted for a Society.(4)The Meeting of the General Body of a Society shall be convened by the President or in his absence by the Vice-President or by the Chief Executive under the authority and direction of the President or the Vice-President as the case may be. In the event of non-convening of the General Body meeting by the President or the Vice-President or the Chief Executive of the Society, the Committee may authorise any other member of the Committee to convene such General meeting/meetings by issuing notice.(5)Notice of the meeting of the General Body, stating the place, date and time of the meeting together with a statement of business to be transacted at the meeting, shall be sent to every member of the Society; seven clear days before the date of the meeting in the manner provided in the Bye-Laws.(6)Absence at a meeting due to the non-receipt of the notice by any member shall not invalidate the proceeding of that meeting.]
