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Uttarakhand High Court · body

2014 DIGILAW 584 (UTT)

Usha Devi v. Director of School Education

2014-12-16

ALOK SINGH

body2014
JUDGMENT Alok Singh, J. 1. Both the writ petitions are interconnected involving identical questions of fact and law, therefore, with the consent of learned counsel for the parties, both the writ petitions are heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. 2. All the petitioners applied, by depositing different cheques / bank drafts of Rs. 501/-, seeking memberships of the registered Society, Janta Intermediate College, Devrajkhal, District Pauri Garhwal; Managing Committee resolved not to accord memberships, as sought by the petitioners and their request to induct them as members of the registered society was turned down. 3. The grievance of the petitioners is that all the petitioners are having good character; have not been adjudged insolvent; and no criminal case was ever registered against them, all of them are more than 21 years of age; therefore, in view of sub-Clause 9 of Clause 4 read with Clause 7 of the Scheme of Administration, their request to induct them as members of registered society ought not to have been declined. 4. The only question involved in the present writ petitions is as to whether Management Committee of a Society is duty bound to accept the membership of every applicant, on deposit of Rs. 501, if he is otherwise qualified to be inducted as a member of the Society or in other words, Society cannot refuse application to induct as member? 5. Clause 4 (9) reads as under: (9). No person, despite having all the eligibility / qualification, shall be inducted as member of General House unless his request to induct as a member is accepted by resolution of the Management Committee. If such person is already a member, his membership shall be terminated / revoked on either of the grounds mentioned under Clause (1) to (6) of sub-Clause 9 of Clause 4 of the Scheme of Administration. 6. As per Clause 7 of the Scheme of Administration, a person shall be deemed to have been inducted as a member from the date of deposit of Rs. 501/-, if his membership is accepted by the Management Committee. 7. 6. As per Clause 7 of the Scheme of Administration, a person shall be deemed to have been inducted as a member from the date of deposit of Rs. 501/-, if his membership is accepted by the Management Committee. 7. A combine reading of sub-Clause 9 of Clause 4 as well as Clause 7 of the Scheme of Administration would demonstrate that it is within the domain of the Management Committee either to accept or to reject the request to induct a person as member and such request has to be accepted by the Management Committee by way of passing resolution to this effect and if by resolution request of a person to induct him as a member is accepted then he shall be member from the date, draft of Rs. 501 was deposited. 8. In my considered opinion, neither Clause 4 nor Clause 7 nor any other provision of the Scheme of Administration provides that in any case, on deposit of Rs. 501, Management Committee has to accept the applicant as member of Society. 9. In my considered opinion Management Committee of the Registered Society has to take decision by majority by passing resolution as to whether person should be inducted as member or not and decision of majority to accept or to reject the request to induct a person as member of the society should not be made matter of judicial review. 10. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that since request of the petitioners to induct them as member of the society has already been turned down, which has been upheld by this Court, therefore, Management Committee be directed to return the bank drafts / cheques deposited by the petitioners. 11. Mr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Advocate appearing on behalf of the Management Committee, submits that amount, so deposited by the petitioners along the application seeking memberships shall be returned to the petitioners as well as to other applicants preferably within fifteen days from today. 12. In view of the discussions made hereinbefore, both the petitions fail and are hereby dismissed. However, as undertook by Mr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Advocate for the Management Committee, amount deposited by the applicants seeking membership shall be returned to the applicants preferably within fifteen days from today. No order as to costs. 13. Let copy of this judgment be placed in the connected petition.