Mohd. Salim vs Collector And Others

Subodh Abhyankar, J

1] This petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the constituion of India seeking the following relief:-

2] The petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 5.4.2026 (Annexure P-7) passed by the respondent no.2/Election Officer whereby, the petitioner's application for contesting the election of President of "Islam Karimiya Society", has been rejected on the ground that the petitioner does not hold the requisite qualification of being a graduate, and also on the ground that the proposer of the petitioner's candidature has also taken an objection that his signatures on the form were fraudulently obtained by the petitioner.

3] Counsel for the respondent no.1/State at the outset has drawn the attention of this Court to the representation submitted by the petitioner to the Assistant Registrar, Firms and Societies Department, and it is submitted that as per section 32 of the M.P. Society Registrikaran Adhiniyam, 1973, the Registrar is competent to decide the dispute between the parties, and even otherwise, against the order passed by the Assistant Registrar, the petitioner has an alternative remedy of filing of a civil suit. It is also submitted that the Election has already been concluded, and Irfan Multan has been appointed as the President on 6.4.2026; thus, the petition itself has become infructuous and the interim relief sought by the petitioner can also not be granted.

4] Respondent no.2, present in person, has opposed the prayer.

5] Counsel for the respondent no.3 has also opposed the prayer.

6] Having considered the rival submissions and on perusal of the documents filed on record, it is found that the petitioner has also not made the newly elected President as a party respondent, and apart from that, it is also apparent that the petitioner has already submitted a representation to the Assistant Registrar, Firms and Societies, and in such circumstances, when the said representation itself is a remedy available to the petitioner under section 32 of the Adhiniyam 1973, this Court does not find it to be a fit case to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, accordingly the petition being sans merits is hereby dismissed.

7] However, the petitioner shall be at liberty to pursue the other remedies as are available to him under law.

8] Accordingly, the petition is hereby dismissed.