High Court of KeralaSingle Judge2019-10-30The writ petition is disposed of as above.

M.R. Muralidharan and K. D. Poulose v. State Co-operative Election Commission, Electoral Officer, Returning Officer, Kanjoor Service Co-operative Bank Ltd., and Mary

Case / Petition Number:WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges: A.MUHAMED MUSTAQUE
Judgment Date: 2019-10-30
Court Decision / Holding: Operative order: The Electoral Officer shall exclude such members who have not paid the differential amounts of the enhanced share value prior to 60 days of the date of election; the writ petition is disposed of as above. The court declined to interfere with Exts. P1–P3 publication corrections that did not affect the election root, and relied on Rule 28 read with Section 19 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 to justify the exclusion of late-pay voters.
Final Disposition: The writ petition is disposed of as above.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

M.R. Muralidharan
K. D. Poulose

Respondents

The State Co-operative Election Commission
The Electoral Officer/The Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General)
The Returning Officer/Unit Inspector, Aluva Unit, Office of the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General) Aluva, Ernakulam District
The Kanjoor Service Co-operative Bank Limited No.454 Kanjoor Post, Ernakulam District
Mary, W/o. Antony, Pallippadan House, Kanjoor, Kanjoor Post, Ernakulam District

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• George Poonthottam (Sr.)
• Nisha George

Counsels for Respondents

• R. Lakshmi Narayan
• M. Sasindran

Case Synopsis & Summary

This writ petition concerns the 2019 election process of Kanjoor Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. The petitioners challenge notices Exts. P1–P3 for alleged publication defects, noting misstatements in Desabhimani: the withdrawal deadline was published as 25.10.2019 instead of 26.10.2019, and the polling date as 19.11.2019 instead of 10.11.2019. The petition also objects to the inclusion in the voters list of members who paid the enhanced share value after the notification, arguing they should not be eligible to vote. The court first considers the publication error, observing that erratum notifications (Exts.R4(c), R4(d)) corrected the Desabhimani mistake and that the error did not strike at the root of the election process; thus, it declines to interfere with that aspect. On the second issue, the court applies settled law that existing members who have not paid the enhanced amount within the required time have no right to be included in the voters list, citing Rajan K.S. v. Electoral Officer (2009) and Jose v. Registrar of Cooperative Societies (1992). The court concludes that voting rights are governed by Rule 28 read with Section 19 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, and directs the Electoral Officer to exclude such nonpaying members from the voters list, disposing of the petition accordingly.

Provisions of Law Cited

Rule 28Section 19 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969

Legal Doctrines & Maxims

Natural justice

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioners contended that Exts. P1, P2 and P3 notification publications contain defects (notably the Desabhimani publication misdating withdrawal and polling dates). They also objected to the inclusion of ineligible voters who paid the enhanced share value after the notification, arguing such late payers should not be permitted to vote. They urged correction of the publications where necessary and exclusion of late-pay voters to preserve the integrity of the election process.

Contentions of Respondents

The respondents, represented by R1 and R4, argued the electoral process must remain transparent and that denial of certain voters raises natural justice concerns. The Electoral Officer indicated that excluding these voters could undermine transparency, but the court ultimately upheld that voting rights are governed by statutory provisions and that non-payment of the enhanced amount within the prescribed time justifies exclusion from the voters list.

Cited Precedents (2)

Case Name	Citation	Treatment	Explanation
Rajan K.S. v. Electoral Officer (Asst. Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General) Thalikulam)	2009 (3) KHC 886	Positive	Cited to support the proposition that existing members who have not paid the enhanced amount within the prescribed time have no right to be included in the voters list.
Jose v. Registrar of Cooperative Societies	1992 KHC 423	Positive	Cited as authority for the view that non-payment within the specified period affects voting eligibility, reinforcing the court’s stance on voter qualifications.

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Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

# **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** **PRESENT** **THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.MUHAMED MUSTAQUE** **WEDNESDAY, THE 30TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2019 / 8TH KARTHIKA, 1941** ## **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019(M)** ## **PETITIONERS:** **1 M.R.MURALIDHARAN, AGED 57 YEARS, MEMBER NO.3325, KANJOOR SERVICE CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD. NO.454, KANJOOR, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, RESIDING AT MANGALAMPANDIL HOUSE, THURAVUMKARA P. O., KANJOOR – 683 575, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT.** - **2 K. D. POULOSE, MEMBER NO.6132, KANJOOR SERVICE CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD. NO.454, KANJOOR, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, RESIDING AT KOZHIKKADAN HOUSE, KANJOOR – 683 575, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT.** **BY ADVS.SRI.GEORGE POONTHOTTAM (SR.) SMT.NISHA GEORGE** ## **RESPONDENTS:** - **1 THE STATE CO-OPERATIVE ELECTION COMMISSION, 3RD FLOOR, CO-BANK TOWERS, VIKAS BHAVAN P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 033, REPRESENTED BY ITS ADDITIONAL REGISTRAR/SECRETARY.** - **2 THE ELECTORAL OFFICER/THE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES (GENERAL), OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES (GENERAL) ALUVA, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN CODE - 683101.** - **3 THE RETURNING OFFICER / UNIT INSPECTOR, ALUVA UNIT, OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES (GENERAL) ALUVA, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN CODE – 683 101.** - **4 THE KANJOOR SERVICE COOPERATIVE BANK LIMITED NO.454 KANJOOR POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN CODE – 683 575. REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY.** **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-2-** **5 MARY, W/O. ANTONY, PALLIPPADAN HOUSE, KANJOOR, KANJOOR POST, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN CODE – 683 575.** **R1 BY ADV. SRI.R.LAKSHMI NARAYAN R4 BY ADV. SRI.M.SASINDRAN** **THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 30.10.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:** **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-3-** ## **JUDGMENT** This writ petition is filed by the members of the Kanjoor Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. No.454. They seek two fold prayers in this writ petition. One is in regard to the publication of Exts.P1, P2 and P3 notifications. This is pointing out the defects in the publication. In Ext.P3 notification published in Desabhimani Daily, the last date for withdrawing the nomination was notified as 25.10.2019 instead of 26.10.2019. The date of polling was shown in the operative portion as 19.11.2019 instead of 10.11.2019. The other prayers are essentially related to Ext.P6 order dated 16.10.2019 of the second respondent- Electoral Officer. The petitioners appeared to have objected to the inclusion in the voters list of certain members who have paid differential amounts of the enhanced share value after the notification of the election ie., to say they have not paid the differential share value prior to 60 days of the date of election. 2. In regard to the first objection, it is to be noted that Exts.R4(c) and R4(d) erratum notifications were published in the same newspaper for correcting the above mistake. The Court needs **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-4-** to interfere with the notification when such notification goes to root of election process. It is to be seen that the notification was taken out in Mathrubhumi daily also. The mistake occurred only in the publication taken out in Desabhimani and that subsequently was also corrected. 3. Taking note of the nature of mistake as above, I am of the view that this will not go to the root of election process, accordingly, I decline this prayer. 4. In regard to second point, this Court has consistently taken the view that the existing members who have not paid enhanced amount within the time have no right to be included in the voters list. See the judgments of **[2009 (3)KHC 886] Rajan K.S. v. Electoral Officer (Asst.Registrar of Coop.Cocieties (General) Thalikulam) & [1992 KHC 423] Jose v. Registrar of Cooperative Societies .** 5. The finding of the Electoral Officer to the contrary, according to me is legally unsustainable. The Electoral Officer observed that such denial would amount to denial of natural justice as well as conduct of the election in a transparent manner. It is to be noted that these members had an opportunity to pay enhanced **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-5-** membership value. They are not denied membership. They are continued to be the members. However, voting rights pertain to the statutory provisions as referable under Rule 28 read with Section 19 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969. In the light of afore noted judgments, the Electoral Officer shall exclude such members who have not paid differential amounts of the enhanced share value prior to 60 days of the date of election. Necessary action shall be taken to exclude such voters without any delay. The writ petition is disposed of as above. **Sd/-** **A.MUHAMED MUSTAQUE** **JUDGE** ## **akv** **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-6-** ## **APPENDIX OF WP(C) 27928/2019** ## **PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS:** **EXHIBIT P1** **TRUE COPY OF THE ELECTION NOTIFICATION NO.01/1377/2019 E(2) S.C.E.C. DATED 20.09.2019** - **EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION FOR ELECTION PUBLISHED IN MATHRUBHUMI DAILY DATED 6.10.2019** - **EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION FOR ELECTION PUBLISHED IN DESABHIMANI DAILY DATED 6.10.2019** **EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION SUBMITTED BY THE 2ND PETITIONER AND ANOTHER DATED 11.10.2019.** - **EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE OBJECTION SUBMITTED BY THE 1ST PETITIONER AND OTHER MEMBERS DATED 14.10.2019.** - **EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT ELECTORAL OFFICER DATED 16.10.2019.** - **EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE FINAL VOTERS' LIST PUBLISHED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT FOR THE 2019 ELECTIONS.** - **EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION NO.E(2)6017/2019/S.C.E.C DATED 9.10.2019 CANCELING THE ELECTION ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT.** **RESPONDENT'S/S EXHIBITS:** **ANNEXURE R1(A) PHOTOCOPY OF THE CUTTING FROM DESHABHIMANI DAILY DATED 7.10.2019. ANNEXURE R1(B) PHOTOCOPY OF THE CUTTING FROM DESHABHIMANI DAILY DATED 15.10.2019.** **EXHIBIT R4(A) A TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION DATED 4-42019 PUBLISHED IN MATHRUBHOOMI DAILY.** **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-7-** **EXHIBIT R4(B)** **A TRUE COPY OF THE RESOLUTION DATED 10.09.2019 OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY.** **EXHIBIT R4(C) A TRUE COPY OF THE ERRATUM NOTIFICATION PUBLISHED IN DESHABHIMANI DAILY DATED 7.10.2019.** **EXHIBIT R4(D) A TRUE COPY OF THE ERRATUM NOTIFICATION PUBLISHED IN DESHABHIMANI DAILY DATED 15.10.2019.** **EXHIBIT R4(E) TRUE COPY OF THE NEWS PAPER WHICH HAS MADE THE MISTAKE AS ISSUED A LETTER INTIMATING THE MISTAKE AND THE CORRECTION NOTIFICATIONS, DATED 28.10.2019.** **EXHIBIT R4(F) A TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY DATED 16.10.2019 SUBMITTED BY THE SECRETARY BEFORE THE ELECTORAL OFFICER.** //TRUE COPY// C.A. TO JUDGE **WP(C).No.27928 OF 2019** **-8-**