Plea seeking administrators over cooperative societies dismissed

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the decision of the Maharashtra government's decision to postpone the elections and to allow the present managing committees of all the cooperative societies, district cooperative banks and even sugar factories to continue till fresh elections aren't held.

A bench of Justices Ramesh Dhanuka and Virendrasingh Bisht was dealing with a plea filed by one Arun Kulkarni, a member of Balgawade Vividh Karyakari Sahakari (Vikas) Seva Society, Sangli.

Kulkarni through his counsel Satish Talekar challenged the state's ordinances that not only postponed the elections but also allowed the existing managing committees to continue in the societies till fresh elections are held.

Notably, the polls were due in January 2020, however, the same couldn't be done in view of the pandemic. The state had in June 2020 passed an ordinance by which it permitted the managing committees to function. The petitioner claimed that the said ordinance allowed the existing committees to function only for six months.

Talekar argued that the ordinance breached the fundamental right to equality as it deprived many others of their chance to get elected into the managing committees. He even highlighted the fact that law permits the state to appoint administrators to look after the functioning of all such cooperative societies.

The judges, however, dismissed the plea noting that Kulkarni had no locus standi in the matter.