Former CJI Bhushan Gavai
The Maharashtra cabinet on Nov 4 approved an amendment providing for the appointment of five govt-nominated members to the boards of federal cooperative societies with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore.
Kolhapur: Advocate Shrikrishna Ganbavale on Thursday said former Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai was of the opinion that Maharashtra govt’s proposal to grant voting rights to nominated directors in cooperative bodies “would be hit by the doctrine of manifest arbitrariness and would amount to colourable exercise of powers”. Of these, one would be an assistant registrar-rank official, while the other four would be persons experienced in running cooperative institutions, with right to vote for electing office bearers. This right to vote in the election of office bearers remains the contentious point.
Referring to Justice Gavai’s analysis, Ganbavale said the former CJI cited the seventh proviso to Section 73AAA(2) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, which stipulates that expert directors do not have voting rights in elections and are not eligible to be elected as office-bearers of a committee. The election for the chairperson’s post, however, could not be conducted due to lack of quorum, and the matter is currently pending before the Kolhapur bench of Bombay HC.
“I am of the considered opinion that if the council of ministers recommends such an ordinance to amend Sections 73AAA and 27(9) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act so as to remove the prohibition on voting rights for expert members and state-nominated members, it would be hit by arbitrariness,” former CJI Gavai stated in his opinion, according to Ganbavale.