JOINT REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES, (GENERAL) AND ETC. ETC. Vs. CHERIAN EAPEN AND ORS. ETC. ETC.

Supreme Court of India (Division Bench (DB)- Two Judge)

Appeal (Civil), 11790-11794 of 2016, Judgment Date: Dec 05, 2016

                                                              NON-REPORTABLE

                        IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
                        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                    CIVIL APPEAL NOS.11790-11794 OF 2016
       [ARISING FROM SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NOS.33370-33374/20166]


      JOINT REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES,
      (GENERAL) AND ETC. ETC.                                APPELLANT(S)

                                   VERSUS

      CHERIAN EAPEN AND ORS. ETC. ETC.                     RESPONDENT(S)

                                    WITH
             C.A. NOS.11795-11799 @ SLP(C) NOS. 34636-34640/2016

                               J U D G M E N T
KURIAN, J.
1.    Leave granted.
2.    The appellants are before this Court aggrieved by  the  interim  order
dated 1.11.2016  passed  in  Writ  Petition  Nos.33414  of  2016  and  other
connected matters.  By way of the said order,  the  Division  Bench  of  the
High Court permitted the elections, scheduled to be held  on  5.11.2016,  to
go on.  It was also made clear that the elections conducted to the  Managing
Committee would be provisional  and  subject  to  the  result  of  the  writ
petitions and also invocation of  Section  69  of  the  Kerala  Co-operative
Societies Act.
3.    When  the  special  leave  petition  came  up  before  this  Court  on
11.11.2016, the following order was passed:-

      “Permission to file the SLPs is granted.
      Heard the learned counsel for the petitiones and the  learned  counsel
appearing on behalf of the caveator viz Respondent No.31.
      Looking at the peculiar facts and circumstances of  the  case,  it  is
directed that by way of interim order an Administrative Committee  shall  be
formed which shall consist of one  Government  official,  who  will  be  the
Chairman of the Committee and the President as well as the Secretary of  the
Society shall be the member of the said Committee.
      The Administrative Committee shall perform day  to  day  work  of  the
Cooperative Society and shall not take any policy decision.
      The petition which is pending before the High Court shall be heard  as
soon as possible and preferably within a period of two months from today.
      Issue notice to the  respondents  by  speed  post  returnable  on  5th
December, 2016.
      Implementation of the impugned judgment is stayed.”

4.    It is seen that pursuant to the elections conducted on  5.11.2016,  13
members have been elected to the Managing Committee.
5.    Though several contentions  are  taken  by  the  parties,  we  do  not
propose to go into the merits of the matter since  the  writ  petitions  are
pending before the High Court.  Since, by the time  this  Court  passed  the
order dated 11.11.2016, a Managing Committee had  already  been  elected  on
5.11.2016, we dispose of these appeals permitting the Committee  elected  on
5.11.2016 to manage the affairs of the Society for  the  time  being,  on  a
provisional basis with the rider that the said Committee shall only  perform
the day-to-day work of the Co-operative  Society  and  shall  not  take  any
policy decision, till the writ petitions are disposed of.
6.    All contentions raised by the writ petitioners are  left  open  before
the High Court.
7.    The writ petitions may be disposed of within  the  time  indicated  by
this Court on 11.11.2016.
8.    Applications for impleadment are allowed.
9.    Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
10.   No costs.

                                                   .......................J.
                                                      [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]


                                                   .......................J.
                                              [ ROHINTON FALI NARIMAN ]

      NEW DELHI;
      DECEMBER 05, 2016.