- (1.) VINEET Saran-This is a petition filed by the Secretary of the society challenging the orders passed by the respondent No. 3, the Deputy Registrar, Firms, Societies and Chit Funds, Agra whereby he is proceeding to constitute the Committee of Management of the Society as per the terms of the bye-laws of the society.
(2.) I have heard Sri Manish Goyal, learned counsel for the petitioner at length as well as learned standing counsel appearing for the respondents No. 1, 2 and 3 and Sri Shailendra along with Sri Sudhindra, learned counsel for the contesting respondent No. 4 and have perused the record. The brief background of this case is that Shree Anar Devi Khandelwal Mahila Polytechnic Shiksha Samiti is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). Admittedly, there has been no proper Committee of Management of the Institution run by the Society since the year 1992. The bye-laws provide that the Principal of Shree Anar Devi Khandelwal Mahila Polytechnic, Mathura shall be the Secretary of the Society. The Secretary, along with its nominated working President are managing the affairs of the Society since 1992. Under the provisions of U. P. Pravidhik Shiksha Adhiniyam, 1962 [Section 22B (5)], the District Magistrate is said to have been appointed as an Authorized Controller. On resolutions passed by the working President and the Secretary of the Society, applications have been filed for renewal of the Society from time to time. The last renewal of the society was granted on 13.7.2001, which was for a period of five years, that is upto 12.7.2006. Then, a meeting was convened on 11.6.2006 by the Secretary/Principal, which was attended only by the nominated working President and the Secretary (who has filed this writ petition) in which it is said to have been resolved that the requisite fee for renewal of the Society be deposited and the society be got renewed for a further period of five years. On such application having been filed by the petitioner, the Deputy Registrar, respondent No. 3, passed the impugned order dated 22.4.2009 holding that since there has been no election of the office-bearers of the Society since 1992 and the signatures of the members nominated by the Managing Committee of the institution have not been duly attested and the committee has not been constituted in terms of the bye-laws of the society, hence under the power conferred by Section 25 (2) of the Act, the Deputy Registrar has taken steps for constituting the committee of management. Then, by order dated 14.5.2009, which has also been impugned in this writ petition, the Deputy Registrar has written to the concerned officers to nominate the members, as has been required under the bye-laws of the society. By an amendment application filed by the petitioner, another order dated 12.6.2009, passed by the Deputy Registrar has been challenged in which it is stated that five members have been nominated by the parent society and other officers have been requested to nominate the respective members so that as per the bye-laws, a panel for appointment of President of the society be sent to the State Government for making appointment of one of them as President. It is these three orders dated 22.4.2009, 14.5.2009 and 12.6.2009, which are under challenge in this writ petition. The main thrust of the argument of Sri Manish Goyal, learned counsel for the petitioner is that the Deputy Registrar could not have passed such orders under Section 25 (2) of the Act. It is submitted by Sri Goyal that the Deputy Registrar could have proceeded under Section 25 (2) only when an election was required to be conducted for the constitution of the committee of management and since in the present case no election is provided in the bye-laws of the society and it is only nomination, hence the Deputy Registrar has erred in law in proceeding under Section 25 (2) of the Act for the constitution of the managing committee of the society.
(3.) FOR consideration of the aforesaid submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner, the provisions for constitution of the committee of management, as provided under the bye-laws of the society may be first noticed. The said bye-laws provide that the society shall have the following as members : ...[VERNACULAR TEXT OMMITED]... In response to the order/ communication of the Deputy Registrar dated 22.4.2009, the managing committee of Chameli Devi Khandelwal Kanya Vidyalaya, Mathura has nominated its five members. The nomination of the remaining members by other officers of the State Government/Council has not been made. The bye-laws provide that the office-bearers would be the President and the Secretary. For selection of the President, a panel of three members has to be sent by the committee to the State Government and, in turn, the State Government has to nominate one of them as President for a period of three years. The Secretary of the society is to be the Principal of Shree Anar Devi Khandelwal Mahila Polytechnic, Mathura. Since the nomination of five members by the society has been sent, but nominations by the Government officials/Council had not been made, the Deputy Registrar wrote to all the officers that the meeting was being convened on 27.6.2009 for preparing a panel for appointment of the President of the society and thus a request was made to the officials to nominate the members so that they could attend the meeting on 27.6.2009.;