Delegations Under Different Co-operative Laws Can't Be Clubbed To Attract Bar On Voting Under State Cooperative Societies Act: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has held that even though State Cooperative Societies Act, State Souharda Sahakari Act and The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act are cognate laws, delegation for voting under the Acts would not be hit by bar of repeat voting under Section 21 State Cooperative Societies Act. The petitions raised a challenge to the nomination of delegates by certain cooperative societies to participate in elections of Canara District Central Cooperative Bank Limited. The grievance of the petitioners is that the 6th respondent, under different statutory enactments has already exercised its right of delegation on two prior occasions and that the present nomination constitutes a third delegation, thereby infringing the statutory embargo engrafted in Section 21 of the Karnataka State Cooperative Societies Act.The petitions were filed by the delegatee of Mahabaleshwara Cooperative Bank, calling in question the delegation of the delegatee of the 6th respondent to stop him from voting in the ensuing elections of the 7th respondent - Canara District Central Cooperative Bank Limited. Justice M Nagaprasanna was considering whether delegations exercised under Cognate Cooperative Enactments are to be aggregated for the purpose of enacting bar under Section 21 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act.The court noted that Section 21 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act embodies a salutary principle, preventing concentration of electoral influence and preserving the democratic fabric of cooperative governance. "The statutory interdiction is against nominating a delegate, to more than two cooperative societies, which is intended to curb monopolization of voting power. Therefore, the rigour of Section 21 of the Act mandates that a delegate cannot vote, on more than two occasions, of a cooperative society, registered under the Cooperative Societies Act," it said. It observed that if all the three delegations of the present delegate is to the Societies registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, it would have been a circumstance altogether different, while it is not. However in the present case, the delegatee first, is delegated to vote in a society coming under the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari Act, the second time to a society coming under the The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and the third time to the Federal Cooperative Society i.e. Canara District Central Cooperative Bank Limited."These are admitted facts. Therefore, the three delegations are to those societies coming under three different enactments. The cooperative societies coming under the Cooperative Societies Act, is distinct and separate, so are the societies coming under the Souharda Act and the Multi-State Act. Therefore, the delegation, the third in line, is in effect the first, to a society under the Cooperative Societies Act...It is not only the nomenclature that is different in the case at hand, the very definition of a cooperative society under the Act clearly means a society registered or deemed to have been registered under this Act. This Act would be, the Act. Section 21 bars more than two occasions voting by a delegate to a cooperative society, which would obviously mean, a society under the Cooperative Societies Act. This cannot be made applicable to every enactment, notwithstanding them being cognate".The court said that the petitioners challenge to the alleged repeated delegation fails, as the repeated delegation is not under the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act. It further held that Section 21 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act bars voting twice over in a cooperative society registered under the Act. Therefore, the alleged third delegation does not violate Section 21, as the first two delegations were under two different enactments – The Souharda Act and the MultiState Act. The court thus dismissed two out of the three petitions. However with respect to the third petition, the court noted that in the facts therein the bar of Section 21 would apply as the delegatee had been nominated twice over to vote. It thus allowed the petition. Case title: MOHAN v/s THE STATE OF KARNATAKA and batchWRIT PETITION NO. 107749 OF 2025 (CS –RES) and connected petitionsCounsel for petitioners: Senior advocate G.R. Gurumath, advocate Mallikarjunswamy Hiremath, Advocate Shripad Joshi, Advocate Raviraj C PatilCounsel for respondents: Senior advocate Gurudass Kannur, senior advocate Aruna Shyam, Advocate Nandini Somapur, advocate Sourabh Hegde, advocate Vishwanath HegdeClick Here To Read/Download Order

Delegations Under Different Co-operative Laws Can't Be Clubbed To Attract Bar On Voting Under State Cooperative Societies Act: Karnataka HC

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