Kolhapur bench of HC
Kolhapur: Kolhapur bench of Bombay high court on Monday refused to grant an interim stay on state govt’s ordinance amending the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, allowing the state to nominate five directors, four with voting rights, to federal cooperatives with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore. Hearing a petition challenging the ordinance’s constitutional validity, the bench of Justice Neeraj P Dhote in its order stated, “The proceedings of the meeting scheduled on Nov 10, 2026, for the election to the post of chairman of the Society shall be subject to the outcome of the petition. The petition was filed by 13 directors of the Samavichari Aghadi panel led by Congress MLC Satej Patil . To safeguard the petitioners’ challenge, the court ordered that the 25 elected directors and four govt-nominated directors vote through separate ballot boxes. Votes cast by the nominated directors will be preserved, while the outcome of the election will remain subject to the final verdict in the case, which is scheduled for hearing on Nov 25. Appearing for the state, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi rejected the claim that the amendment was targeted solely at Gokul dairy, noting that four cooperative bodies in Maharashtra had an annual turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore. The court order states, ‘The proposal for the amendment was made by the minister of Maharashtra government in respect to the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act so as to enable the Government to nominate four (04) Directors. The said communication is dated Oct 16, 2026, which is admittedly prior to the declaration of the election of the directors on Oct 19.
Therefore, this prima facie indicates that the proposal for the amendment resulting into the promulgation of the impugned ordinance was under consideration of the Government prior to the declaration of result of the election of 25 board of directors. .’
“The election officer/presiding officer conducting the election shall preserve the proceedings, ballot papers, and all relevant documents of the election,” the order stated. “Since the election process is already underway, the ordinance brought in the midst should not be applied retrospectively,” Singhvi contended. Since the challenge to the impugned ordinance is sub-judice, the election officer/presiding officer shall keep separate ballot box for voting of the elected directors and government nominees. After the counting, the ballot papers of elected directors and govt nominees be kept separately. The voting will be at 11am. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the ordinance was brought midstream to influence the Gokul dairy election. “Govt has the right to have nominees to safeguard public interest. It grants loans, subsidies worth hundreds of crores and provides land. The election can be set aside later if required,” Rohatgi argued.
The court directed Maharashtra State Cooperative Election Authority to conduct the election for the chairperson of Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, popularly known as Gokul Dairy, on Tuesday.