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2020 DIGILAW 560 (ALL)

Ram Dev v. State of U. P.

2020-02-19

RAJAN ROY

body2020
JUDGMENT : Rajan Roy, J. 1. Supplementary-affidavit filed today is taken on record. 2. Heard learned Counsel for petitioner and learned Counsel for respondents. 3. As regards respondent No. 5, the society, it is admitted position of parties before this Court and it is a fact which is mentioned in the impugned order also that after 12.2.2012 no elections to the committee of management of society have been held and the said committee of management which was elected in the last elections has become time barred. The then manager died in 2013 and in his place, petitioner No. 1 Ram Dev was elected. Moreover, as informed by learned Counsel for parties the registration of the society has also not been renewed, therefore, in these circumstances considering the order proposed to be passed notices need not be issued to respondents, especially as the Committee of Management has become time barred and it is the petitioner No. 1 who was its Manager. 4. First and foremost the law is very well-settled that unless the registration of the society is renewed, the Assistant Registrar would have no jurisdiction to proceed under Societies Registration Act, 1860. In this view of matter one of the questions to be considered is as to how if the society is veritably unregistered in eyes of law the impugned order has been passed by the Assistant Registrar determining the members of the General Body of the society and issuing the election schedule which is to be held on 23.2.2020. 5. This apart another issue which has cropped up during the course of hearing is as to how the list of members of the General Body could be finalised by the Assistant Registrar without issuing a tentative list of such members and inviting objections which is ordinarily the procedure followed by the Assistant Registrars of society throughout the State of U.P. in pursuance to certain judgments of this Court, as, after declaring a committee of management as time barred and in view of the elections not being held by such committee of management within the period stipulated in the rules the first and foremost requirement is to determine the electoral college for such elections. In order to avoid any dispute of membership this Court in a catena of decisions has required the Assistant Registrar to first of all determine the tentative list of members of General Body obviously on the basis of parameters prescribed under section 15 of the Act 1860 and the newly inserted section 4-B of the said Act and thereafter invite objections from the concerned persons to such tentative list. On receipt of objections they are required to be considered by the Assistant Registrar or if no such objection is received even then he has to finalise the list of members of the General Body for facilitating the election under section 25(2) of the Act 1860. In this case the tentative list of the members of the General Body has not been notified, may be this was done on account of the fact that the petitioners did not produce the original records regarding induction of new members in the year 2013-14 and 2014-15. Accordingly, the Assistant Registrar excluded these 30 members who are alleged to have been inducted as members of the general body of the society by the committee of management elected in 2012. Even then there was no reason for him not to issue a tentative list of members of the general body as there cannot be any presumption that no one else would raise any objection. The Assistant Registrar also rejected the alleged induction of 38 members in the general body of the society by the respondent No. 6 Anant Prasad Shukla who in fact was elected as Manager of the committee of management of the college in the election held on 18.1.2015 and was never elected as manager or any other office bearer of the committee of the management of the society, a fact which has not been belied by the Counsel for respondent No. 6 either orally or in writing. It is also not in dispute that so far as exclusion of these 38 members from the list of members of the general body finalised by the impugned order it has not been challenged by the respondent No. 6 instead he filed a writ petition before this Court that in pursuance to the impugned order the election should be held at the earliest which was withdrawn. The said writ petition bore number 3061 (M/S) of 2020 which was dismissed as withdrawn on 4.2.2020. The said writ petition bore number 3061 (M/S) of 2020 which was dismissed as withdrawn on 4.2.2020. This, however, will not prevent the 38 members allegedly inducted by respondent No. 6 to raise a claim before the Assistant Registrar as and when a tentative list of members of general body is notified by him, inviting objections to the same. 6. In view of what has been stated hereinabove first of all the Assistant Registrar shall consider the renewal of registration of the society Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru Junior High School Jagesharganj Pratapgarh. For this purpose an application can be moved by a member of the society including any of the petitioners. It would be better if it is moved by petitioner No. 1. Merely because any member of the society moves an application for renewal of registration of the society and the same is renewed it will not by itself confer any right or entitlement either to membership or to any office of the society on such person who may have moved such application if a dispute arises in this regard and the legal position in this regard is very well-settled. This is for the reason, renewal is of the registration of society and it is in interest of all the members of the society without conferring any special rights on any particular member or office bearer by itself who may have moved such application for renewal. After this process is completed and the renewal of the registration of the societies is done by the Assistant Registrar, thereafter he shall issue the notice to the petitioner No. 1, the Manager of the outgoing committee of management and respondent No. 6/Anant Prasad Shukla calling upon them to produce the relevant original records pertaining to the membership of the general body of the society. He shall thereafter here out the matter and prepare a tentative list of general body of society which he shall notify as per law inviting objections to the same giving a period of 15 days for the said purpose. Thereafter, if any objections are received he shall consider the same and finalise the list of member of general body. If they are not received he shall proceed to finalise the list of members of the general body with due and proper application of mind keeping in view the observations made hereinabove. Thereafter, if any objections are received he shall consider the same and finalise the list of member of general body. If they are not received he shall proceed to finalise the list of members of the general body with due and proper application of mind keeping in view the observations made hereinabove. After finalising the members of the general body of the society as aforesaid he shall schedule the election exercising his powers under section 25(2) of the Act 1860. This entire exercise shall be done by the Assistant Registrar under section 25(2) of the Act 1860 read with sections 15 and 4-B of the Act 1860 meaning thereby if there is any dispute of membership the same shall be settled in these very proceedings as in the event of any dispute regarding election the Prescribed Authority ordinarily does not have any jurisdiction to determine as to who is a member of general body of the society, as the same falls within the jurisdiction of the Assistant Registrar/Deputy Registrar in view of the existing provisions. 7. In view of the above as the Assistant Registrar has not acted in accordance with the principles of natural justice and has passed the impugned order without considering the renewal of the registration of the society, that too, without issuing any tentative list of member of the general body therefore the impugned order is hereby quashed. The Assistant Registrar shall now take fresh decision as aforesaid. The petition is allowed but only in the aforesaid terms. 8. The aforesaid exercise shall be completed by the Assistant Registrar within two months of date of certified order of this order is produced before him. 9. Shri S.K. Khare, learned State Counsel shall communicate passing of this order to Assistant Registrar Firms, Societies and Chips, Prayagraj and also the D.I.O.S., Pratapgarh without waiting for a certified copy of the same.