Authority: High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital

Order Date: 27 October 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: Surendra Kumar and others, members of Chhetriya Shri Gandhi Ashram, a registered Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
  • Respondents: Deputy Registrar and others.
  • The petition challenged two orders dated 07 Oct 2026 and 09 Oct 2026 issued by the Deputy Registrar.
  • Order dated 07 Oct 2026 validated the election of Shiv Bahadur Singh while invalidating the elections of Vijaymal Singh and Virendra Tripathi.
  • Order dated 09 Oct 2026 called for a meeting on 28 Oct 2026 to conduct an election for induction of new members.
  • Petitioners argued that the Chairman’s vote in favour of Vijaymal Singh and Virendra Tripathi rendered the entire election invalid, yet the 07 Oct order still validated Shiv Bahadur Singh’s election.
  • The Court, on 26 Oct 2026, sought clarification from the State on why the earlier order dated 24 Aug 2026 was partially withdrawn by the 07 Oct order.
  • Deputy Advocate General (State) submitted that the 24 Aug order was withdrawn only concerning Shiv Bahadur Singh because he secured two‑thirds of the votes as per the Bye‑laws, making his election valid. The Chairman has no voting power under the Bye‑laws, so the elections of Vijaymal Singh and Virendra Tripathi were not disturbed.
  • Petitioners contended that the respondents were repeating the same illegality and feared the 28 Oct election would not comply with the Bye‑laws.
  • State counsel argued that the Court cannot pass an order based solely on presumptions.

Final Outcome

  • The Court found merit in the State’s submission, noting that the meeting had already been convened by the 09 Oct order.
  • It held that it was neither expedient nor prudent to halt the election at this stage.
  • The petitioners have a remedy under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and may approach the Registrar of Cooperative Societies if needed.
  • Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed in‑limine, and no interference with the scheduled election was ordered.
  • Any pending applications, if any, were disposed of.

Topics: Society Election, Court Judgment