Hon'ble Rakesh Srivastava, J.
By these proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have approached this Court seeking a writ of certiorari to quash the order dated 21.11.2014 passed by the District Magistrate/District Cooperative Election Officer, Hardoi notifying the election of the members, Chairman and Vice Chairman of various primary Cooperative Societies, including the Primary Cooperative Society by the name of Audyogik Aasthan Sahkari Samiti Limited, Nagheta, Hardoi and appointing Election Officer. Challenge has also been made to the election programme declared by the so appointed election officer. A mandamus has also been sought to command the opposite parties not to disturb the peaceful functioning of petitioners no. 2 and 3 as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the society before completion of the full term of five years.
Factual matrix of the case, as set out in the pleadings by the petitioners in brief, relevant for the purposes of the case are as under :
Audyogik Aasthan Sahkari Samiti Limited, Nagheta, Hardoi is a Primary Cooperative Industrial Society having its registered office at C-1, Industrial Estate Nagheta, Hardoi, having about 28 members. An election of office bearers of the socity is alleged to have been held on 11.01.2010 wherein petitioners no. 2 and 3 claim to have been elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively. It has further been alleged that though term of elected Chairman and Vice Chairman held on 11.01.2010 did not come to an end but petitioners no. 2 and 3 in an Annual General Meeting of the Society held on 27.08.2014 proposed the name of one Manni Lal Shah and Sri Suresh Kumar Mittal (petitioner no. 1) to be the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the society and the same were elected by voice vote. It is also alleged that the election so held on 27.08.2014 was recognized on 28.08.2014 by the Election Officer of the Society in a meeting of Zila Udhyog Bandhu, Hardoi.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that in view of the provisions of Article 243-ZJ, introduced by the Constitution by Ninety-seventh Amendment Act, 2011, which came into force with effect from 15.02.2012, the term of office of the elected office bearers is five years from the date of election and thus, the term of the petitioner no. 2 elected as Chairman and petitioner no. 3 as Vice Chairman on 27.08.2014 shall be five years and they are entitled to continue till 26.08.2019. The provisions of Article 243-ZJ is reproduced herein :
"243-ZJ. Number and term of members of board and its office bearers.- (1) The board shall consist of such number of directors as may be provided by the Legislature of a State, by law:
Provided that the maximum number of directors of a co-operative society shall not exceed twenty-one:
Provided further that the Legislature of a State shall, by law, provide for the reservation of one seat for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes and two seats for women on board of every co-operative society consisting of individuals as members and having members from such class or category of persons.
(2) The term of office of elected members of the board and its office bears shall be five years from the date of election and the term of office bearers shall be coterminous with the term of the board:
Provided that the board may fill a casual vacancy on the board by nomination out of the same class of members in respect of which the casual vacancy has arisen, if the term of office of the board is less than half of its original term.
(3) The Legislature of a State shall, by law, make provisions for co-option of persons to be members of the board having experience in the field of banking, management, finance or specialization in any other field relating to the objects and activities undertaken by the co-operative society, as members of the board of such society:
Provided that the number of such co-opted members shall not exceed two in addition to twenty-one directors specified in the first proviso to clause (1):
Provided further that such co-opted members shall not have the right to vote in any election of the co-operative society in their capacity as such member or to be eligible to be elected as office bearers of the board:
Provided also that the functional directors of a co-operative society shall also be the members of the board and such members shall be excluded for the purpose of counting the total number of directors specified in the first proviso to clause (1)."
No doubt, the aforesaid constitutional provision provides that term of elected office bearers shall be five years, however, the provisions shall stand attracted only in case, there is a valid election. Article 243-ZJ (2) apart from providing that term of the elected office bearers to five years also provides that term of office bearers shall be coterminous with the term of the board which has also been prescribed to be five years.
Petitioners have failed to disclose the details as to when the election of the members of the board took place. According to the petitioners themselves, the petitioners no. 2 and 3 were elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, on 11.01.2010. There is no disclosure of any fact or reason as to why all of sudden without there being any casual vacancy, petitioners no. 2 and 3 were all of sudden elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Society on 27.08.2014 without the term of the elected Chairman and Vice Chairman having come to an end. In accordance with the provisions of Article 243-ZJ, the term of five years is prescribed for Chairman and Vice Chairman in accordance with law elected through a valid election. Learned counsel for the petitioners has failed to demonstrate before us as to how without the term having come to an end or there being a casual vacancy petitioners no. 2 and 3 can be said to have been validly elected without any election officer having being appointed and a election schedule merely by a voice vote. The benefit of a period of term of five years is not liable to be extended to the board or office bearers, who have not been validly elected.
Since the petitioners have failed to disclose in the writ petition that the petitioners no. 2 and 3 were validly elected Chairman and Vice Chairman of the society, challenge to the election of the society on the ground that term has not expired is not tenable and the provisions of Article 243-ZJ are not at all attracted in the facts and circumstances of the case.
Further, once the election programme has been notified and the process having commenced, again we find no reason to interfere with the same in accordance with the settled legal position in this regard.
For the aforesaid facts and reasons, challenge must fail and the writ petition accordingly stands dismissed in limine.
Order Date :- 11.12.2014 Dcs