Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 12: State High Court has dismissed the petitions challenging the appointment of Administrator by the Registrar Cooperatives Societies for looking after the affairs of Sainik Cooperative House Building Society till the managing body of the Society is elected and imposed costs of Rs 50,000 on the petitioners with the directions to deposit the amount in the Advocate’s Welfare Fund within four weeks. The Registrar Cooperatives Societies was directed to take steps for holding elections of the Society within reasonable time.
The petitioners were elected in the Managing Committee of the Society on July 24, 2008 and their term expired on July 24, 2011. They initiated process for election of new committee 90 days before the expiry of the term. However, the Deputy Registrar Cooperative Societies vide communication dated July 7, 2011 requested the Returning Officer to postpone the election schedule at least by 15 days so that the genuine objections of the members would be invited and disposed of to their satisfaction, which would result in conducting elections in a free and fair manner.
In the meantime, one Ram Saroop Sharma and others filed OWP No.983/2011 seeking quashment of appointment of Returning Officer as also notification dated June 24, 2011 wherein he had fixed schedule for conducting the elections. In this writ petition, the High Court on July 21, 2011 directed for maintenance of status quo till next date of hearing. This order was modified on August 3, 2012 and it was provided that the respondents should not proceed with the elections under notification impugned in the petition till next date of hearing.
Another writ petition was filed by Dev Raj Choudhary and others wherein again it was prayed that the notification appointing Returning Officer be quashed and notification whereby election schedule was fixed be also quashed.
Advocate B S Manhas appeared on behalf of the petitioners and Deputy Advocate General, Inderjeet Gupta for the State and Advocate Virender Bhat for the respondents.
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