- (1.) Petitioners are the elected members of The Samadh Bhai Multipurpose Cooperative Service Society Ltd., -respondent no.3 (for short, Society ). They are aggrieved against the co-option of respondent no.4- Nirbhai Singh and Tarsem Singh-respondent no.5 to the Committee of their society vide resolution dated 25.08.2014 (Annexure P-2).
(2.) Learned Counsel for the petitioners has argued that after the amendment of Section 26-A of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as '1961 Act') vide Punjab Cooperatives Societies (Amendment) Act, 2013 notified on 28.07.2014 (P-1), the two members could not be co-opted by virtue of the deletion of their in Sub Section 2 of Section 26-A of 1961 Act, since the co-option can now only be made from amongst the specified persons under the newly inserted Sub Section 4 to Section 26-A of the 1961 Act.
(3.) Having heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and going through the provisions of the Act as also the amended Act this Court finds that there is not substance in the plea raised by the petitioner. Before adverting to the facts and arguments of the case it is necessary to reproduce the unamended provisions of Section 26-A of the 1961 Act and amendments made to provisions of Section 26-A operative w.e.f. 28.07.2014:- Unamended Section 26-A of 1961 Act:- 26-A Co-option of members-(1) Notwithstanding anything in Section 26 of the Registrar may, by an order in writing, direct the committee of any any cooperative society or any class of cooperatives societies to co-opt, in the prescribed manner for serving on the committee such number of members not exceeding two as may be specified in the directions. (2) Where a direction is issued under sub-section (1), cooption shall be made from amongst members of the cooperative society belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or backward classes or from amongst members who as landowner or tenant or as both do not hold more than the prescribed area of agricultural land and fulfill the prescribed conditions. (3) Members co-opted under sub-section (2) for serving on the committee of a cooperative society shall have the same rights and privileges and shall be subject to the same liabilities as elected members of the committee of that Society. Amended Section 26-A:- 11. In the principal Act, in Section 26-A,- (i) In sub-section (2), the words and sign scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or , shall be omitted and thereafter the following provisor shall be added, namely:- Provided that the maximum number of members of the committee shall not exceed twenty one excluding the members co-opted under sub Section (4). (ii) after sub-section (3), the following sub-section (4) shall be added, namely:- (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), the committee shall co-opt as members from amongst the persons having an experience in the filed of banking, management and finance or having specialization in any field relating to the objects and activities undertaken by such a society: Provided that the number of such co-opted members of the committee shall not exceed two in addition to twenty one members specified in the first proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 26: Provided further that such co-opted members shall not have the right to vote in any election of the cooperative society in their capacity as such member and shall also not be eligible to be elected as office bearers of the committee: Provided further that the functional directors of a cooperative society shall also be the members of the committee and such members shall be excluded for the purpose of counting the total number of members specified in the first proviso of sub-section (1) of Section 26. ;