M.I.Baby vs Managing Committee Of Teekoy Service Co Operative Bank Ltd.

T.R. Ravi, J

The petitioners are the members of the Managing Committee of the 2nd respondent Bank. The term of the Committee expired on 28.7.2022. An election was proposed to be conducted on 24.7.2022. Ext.P1 notice was issued by the election commission on 04.06.2022. According to the petitioners, after the declaration of the election, the Committee enrolled 954 members. The Managing committee in a meeting on 12.05.2022, enrolled 371 members remitting their share value by functioning the bank till 11:30 p.m. (midnight). Thereafter, the Managing Committee in a meeting on 21.05.2022, enrolled 583 members remitting their share value by functioning the bank till 12:30 p.m. (midnight). According to the petitioners, while admitting members, the Form 6B register is to be maintained after obtaining the signature or thumb impression of the concerned members. It is submitted that such details were not obtained in the case of 958 members thus enrolled. It is contended that Form 6B register is not seen maintained at the time of inclusion of above said persons as members on 12.05.2022 and 21.05.2022. It is the contention that the above action is to tilt the balance in the election due to the political change in Kottayam district on the death of Sri K.M.Mani., the mentor of Kerala Congress. It is submitted that only after verifying Form 6B can the voters be permitted to enter the polling station. The petitioners submit that they objected to the list prepared by the Managing Committee on the ground that the new members had not signed Form 6B register. The writ petition is preferred in the above circumstances.

The 2nd respondent has filed a counter affidavit. It is stated that on 12.5.2022, a meeting was held, 317 membership applications were approved, and the share amount was remitted. On 21.05.2022, 857 applications came in, recommended by various members of the Managing Committee, out of which 259 applications were kept aside as they did not comply with the bye-laws, and 15 applications were found defective. 583 applications were approved, and share amounts were remitted. It is submitted that on 24.5.2022, the resolution was forwarded to the Joint Registrar for announcing the election in compliance with Rule 35A(1). Six members of the Committee are stated to have submitted a letter dated 21.5.2022, on 24.5.2022, disapproving the decision dated 21.5.2022. The counter affidavit narrates the procedure that is followed while enrolling members. It is stated that Form 6B will be generated after the passing of the resolution on the membership application and the payment of the share value and that the signature of the concerned member will be received while the identity card is issued to such member in terms of Rule 16A or Rule 16B or Rule 35A(5) of Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules. It is further stated that identity cards can be issued on such request from the concerned member at any point in time till 2 days before the actual date of the election. It is contended that there is no mandate under any provision that voters who have not signed the 6B registers are not entitled to get enrolled in the voters’ list. The voters' list was placed before the committee meeting held on 16.6.2022 and was approved by the majority of members of the committee, excluding the nominated member.

Heard Sri P.N.Mohanan on behalf of the petitioner, Smt.Mable C.Kurian, Senior Government Pleader, Sri C.M.Nazar, Standing Counsel on behalf of respondents 3 and 4 and Sri Liji J.Vadakkedom on behalf of the 2nd respondent.

The first prayer made in the writ petition is for a direction to respondents 3 and 4 not to include persons admitted on 12.5.2022 and 21.5.2022 in the voters' list who have not signed in From 6B register to be maintained in the Bank. Even though the prayer is to remove persons who have been included in the voters' list, none of the said persons have been impleaded in this writ petition. The said prayer has to fail since the affected parties are not brought on record. Apart from that, the contention of the petitioner is that a person who has not signed in Form 6B register cannot be included in the voters' list. There is a fallacy in the said contention. Going by Rule 16A, a person who is admitted as a member of a Society is to be issued with an identity card, which is to be in Form 6A. An identity card thus issued is conclusive evidence to prove his membership in the Society. However, the Rule cannot be read to understand that any person who is not issued with an identity card would not be a member at all. A register in Form 6B is one maintained under Rule 16A, which is to contain details corresponding to the identity card which is issued in Form 6A. Rule 16A(2) says that an existing member shall, within one month from the date of commencement of the Rules, furnish to the Society concerned two copies of his recent photographs of passport size, and the Society shall issue an identity card to him within 15 days from the date of receipt of the photographs. This would clearly show that an identity card is not being issued contemporaneously with a person becoming a member of the Society. All that is required under Rule 16A (3) is that identity cards shall be issued to the member concerned after obtaining his acknowledgment in the register in Form 6B. Rule 35A lays down the procedure regarding the conduct of elections. Rule 35A(4) says that the Electoral Officer appointed by the State Co-operative Election Commission shall be responsible for the publication of the list of members qualified to vote at the election in accordance with the provisions of the Act, Rules, and Byelaws as it stood on a date 60 days prior to the date fixed for the poll. This would clearly show that a voters’ list need not include all the members of a Society, and only members who are enrolled prior to 60 days of the date fixed for the poll will get included in the voters' list. Rule 35A says that persons included in the voters' list should be supplied with identity cards in Form 6A, which would necessarily mean that an identity card can be issued even after the inclusion of name in the voters' list and need not precede the preparation of the voters' list. All that the Rule says is that the issuance of the identification cards shall be stopped two days prior to the date of the poll. This would mean that a person who had become a member 60 days prior to the date of the poll can be issued an identity card even two days prior to the date of the poll. As such, the first prayer in the writ petition, even on merits, cannot be legally sustained. The second prayer is to declare  that in terms of Rule 35A(4) of the KCS Rules, the voters’ list can be published in the case of members whose details are fully available in the Form 6B register. This, again, cannot be legally sustained for the reasons aforesaid. Since the details in an identity card in Form 6A are those entered in the Form 6B register, and the identity card can be issued even two days prior to the date of the poll, there cannot be a declaration that the voters' list itself has to be prepared on the basis of the details available in the Form 6B register. Both the prayers are against the statutory provisions. Even otherwise, the issue is purely academic since the date of the election is far over.

The writ petition fails and is dismissed.