- (1.) The writ petitioner is a member of the West Bengal Cooperative Bank Limited, which is a registered cooperative society. The petitioner was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the said cooperative society and has filed the instant writ petition praying, inter alia, for the following reliefs: " a) A writ of declaration declaring the West Bengal Co-operative Societies (Amendment and Validation) Act 2013 as bad in law and void; b) A writ of in the nature of mandamus by declaring that the impugned Act of 2013 (Bill 9 of 2013) is repugnant to the 97th Amendment of the Constitution of India and thus, unconstitutional; c) A writ of in the nature of mandamus by declaring that the state legislature acted malafide in passing the West Bengal Cooperative Societies (Amendment and Validation) Bill of 2013 being Bill 9 of 2013."
(2.) The genesis of this matter lies in a judgment rendered by this Court on 17th October, 2012 in a writ petition bearing no. WP 4009 (W) of 2012 (The West Bengal State Co-operative Bank Ltd. & Anr. vs The State of West Bengal & Ors.). The issue in that matter related to introduction of certain new provisions into the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the Principal Act) by way of amendment. The Principal Act was amended by the West Bengal Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as the Amendment Act), which obtained assent of the Governor and was published by way of a notification dated 30th January, 2012. Later, by another notification dated 6th February, 2012 issued by the Government of West Bengal and published in Kolkata Gazette, the Amendment Act came into force.
(3.) The moot question that came up for consideration in that matter was whether certain provisions of the Amendment Act were repugnant to the legal fiction introduced under the non obstante provision in the Repeal and Savings clause, as contained under section 6 of the Principal Act and ultra vires the Constitution of India and also contrary to the provisions of the Constitution (11th Amendment) Bill, 2009, which later on became the Constitution (Ninety Seventh Amendment) Act, 2011, upon its receiving Presidential assent on 12th January, 2012 and came into force on 15th February, 2012.;