Bombay HC Kolhapur bench
A bench of Justices Abhay Ahuja and Neeraj Dhote passed the order after hearing, for nearly three hours, a petition filed by 13 directors of Congress MLC Satej Patil-led Samavichari Panel, along with submissions from counsel representing four of 12 Mahayuti directors, State Cooperative Election Authority (SCEA) and state govt. In its order, the bench said: “Without prejudice to the rights and contentions with respect to the validity of the communication dated Oct 30, 2026, and only as and by way of interim arrangement, the respondents number 1 (presiding officer Chougule) and 3 (Gokul Dairy) are peremptorily directed to complete the process of issuance of seven days’ notice to all 25 elected directors of the respondent No. 3 by today itself by 5pm for the election to be held on Nov 10 at 11am for electing the chairperson in accordance with the procedure prescribed under Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 and the bylaws of the respondent No. 3.
He said the issue would become complicated if the court directed the election to proceed by bypassing the statutory requirement. Paranjape further maintained that since the first meeting had been adjourned, a second meeting could only be convened after issuing the mandatory seven-day notice to all directors.
Observing that he was giving the 12 Mahayuti directors a second opportunity to participate, he directed the dairy administration and SCEA to issue notices informing them of the fresh meeting. The outcome of the Nov 10 meeting will be brought before the Nov 11 hearing and we will seek further directions,” Shrikrishna Ganbavale, advocate representing the petitioners, said.
“The court has not made remaining present for the meeting compulsory,” senior advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for the Mahayuti directors, said. During the hearing, Justice Ahuja remarked that he had expected someone to suggest a solution to the deadlock. The Mahayuti directors, however, maintained that attendance was not mandatory. The possibility of a continued stalemate remains, as another boycott by Mahayuti directors could once again leave the meeting without the required quorum and prevent the election of a chairperson. “The court has fixed the next hearing immediately next day.