L RAMAKRISHNAPPA Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER AND ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF CO OPERATIVE SOCIETIES BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) in these writ appeals, following two questions of law arise for consideration: (1) whether this court has no jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to interfere with any illegality, committed in the course of holding election to the offices of any authority/body, which is regulated by statutory Provisions, if the law provides for filing an election dispute challenging the legality of the election of the candidates declared elected? (2) if the answer to the above question is in the negative, then under what circumstances this court should exercise or should decline to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the constitution?

(2.) brief and undisputed facts of the case are these: the 2nd respondent-the taluka agricultural produce co-operative marketing society (t.a.p.c.m.s.) is a co-operative society constituted and functioning under the Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Act, 1959 ('the act' for short). The area of its operation is Bangalore north taluk. Under Section 16 of the Act, any other co-operative society can be admitted as its member. The agricultural co-operative societies (vyavasaya seva sahakara sanghas) established at various places in the taluk, are its members. Matters relating to election to the managing committee of the society are regulated by the Provisions of the act and the rules framed thereunder. In respect of certain classes of co-operative societies, Section 29-c(5) of the act empowers the state government to prescribe one of the conditions of eligibility for election. It reads: "29-c. Disqualification for membership of the committee. (5) in the case of co-operative marketing societies, consumers co-operative societies and such class or classes of co-operative societies as may be specified by the state government, by notification in the official gazette, no member shall be eligible for being appointed or elected as a member of the committee of such co-operative society if he does not fulfil the minimum qualifications relating to his transactions with the co-operative society upto such monetary limits as may be specified from time to time in such notification." As can be seen from sub-section (5), it confers power on the state government to specify, by notification in the official gazette, the minimum qualification relating to the transactions of members upto such monetary limits and to say that members who do not fulfil such qualification shall not be eligible for being appointed or elected as a member of the committee of the society of which they are members.

(3.) in exercise of the power under Section 29-c(5), the state government issueda notification on 25th january, 1991. It reads: "government of Karnataka No. Cmw.5.cpc/87. Kamataka govt. Secretariat, m.s. building, Bangalore, dated 25-1-1991. Notification in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (5) of Section 29-c of the Karnataka Co-Operative Societies Act, 1959 (Karnataka act 11 of 1959), the government of Karnataka hereby specify that in case of the classes of cooperative societies specified in column (2) of the table below, no member shall be eligible for being appointed or elected as a member of the committee of such co-operative society, if he does not fulfil the minimum qualifications relating to his transactions with the co-operative society of the monetary limits specified in the corresponding entries in column (3) thereof. <FRM>JUDGEMENT_654_KANTLJ4_1991Html1.htm</FRM> the notification No. Cmw.5.cps. 87, dated 5-3-1990 is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect. By order and in the name of the governor of Karnataka sd/- r. Shivaji rao, under secretary to government, co-operation department." As can be seen from the above notification, in respect of taluk agricultural produce co-operative marketing society, 'a' class members become eligible for being elected or appointed as member of its managing committee, if they had transacted at least to the extent of Rs. 50,000-00 during the last preceding co-operative year. The eligibility prescribed for 'b' class members is that for being eligible for appointment or election as the member of the committee, the t.a.p.c.m.s. concerned, they should have transacted with it at least Rs. 15,000-00 during the last preceding cooperative year. There is no dispute that in respect of the second respondent t.a.p.c.m.s. seven seats are available for being elected from among societies who are 'a' class members and two persons are to be elected from among 'b' class members. Calendar of events for the election to the committee of the 2nd respondent- t.a.p.c.m.s. was issued on 9-7-1991, copy of which is marked as Annexure-F . The date fixed for filing the nomination was 23-7-1991. The date fixed for publishing the final list of candidates contesting the election was 26-7-1991 and the date of poll and declaration of the result of the election was 31-7-1991.