Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:32966 Court No. - 32 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 21526 of 2022 Petitioner :- C/M Janta Vikas Laghu Madhyamik Vidyalaya And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Arun Kumar Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Prem Prakash Chaudhary Hon'ble Saral Srivastava,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel for respondent nos.1 to 3 and Sri Prem Prakash Chaudhary, learned counsel for respondent no.5. 2. The petitioner by means of the present writ petition has assailed the order dated 22.06.2022 passed by the respondent no.2- Assistant Registrar, Firms, Societies, and Chits, Gorakhpur whereby he has renewed the Society namely, 'Janta Vikas Laghu Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Phulwaria, Post Gopalpur, District Sant Kabir Nagar' and has further registered the list of office bearers of respondent no.4. 3. This Court has passed the following interim order on 29.08.2022:- "Heard Shri Arun Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel appearing for the respondent nos. 1, 2 and 3. Shri P.P. Chaudhary, learned counsel has accepted notice on behalf of the respondent nos. 4 and 5. This writ petition has been filed challenging the order dated 22.6.2022 passed by the respondent no. 2, Assistant Registrar, Firms, Societies and Chits, Gorakhpur, whereby, it is alleged by the petitioner that the authority concerned has entered into the merits of the election dispute between the rival Committees of Managements and has recognized the one list of the Committee of Management that was furnished by the respondent no. 5 to the loss of the petitioner. It is contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the order passed by the Assistant Registrar is without jurisdiction inasmuch as given the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, the Assistant Registrar would be bound to refer the matter to the prescribed authority without going into the merits of the dispute of the election. In support of his contention, the learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon two Division Bench judgements of this Court in the case of Committee of Management, Anjuman Kherul Almin Allahganj and another Vs. State of U.P. and others reported in 2014 (1) ADJ 44 and in the case of Malti Devi Vs. State of U.P. and others reported in 2016 (9) ADJ 66. Learned counsel for the respondents pray for and are granted two weeks' time to file counter affidavit. Rejoinder affidavit, if any, may be filed within one week, thereafter. List this matter on 19.9.2022 for final disposal. Till the next date of listing, the order of the Assistant Registrar dated 22.6.2022 shall remain in abeyance." 4. There is no quarrel with the proposition of law that once there is a dispute of office bearers of the Society, the Assistant Registrar/Deputy Registrar does not have jurisdiction to record any finding about the validity of the election, and he is bound to refer the dispute under Section 25(1) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 to the Prescribed Authority. 5. In such view of the fact, the impugned order to the extent it renewed the Society is affirmed, and rest of the order by which Assistant Registrar has registered the list of office bearers of the respondent no.4 is set aside. 6. The matter is remitted to the respondent no.3-Prescribed Authority/Sub Divisional Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar. The Assistant Registrar is directed to remit the entire record to the Prescribed Authority within a period of one month from today. The Prescribed Authority is further directed to decide the claim of the parties within a period of three months from the date he receives the entire record from the office of the Assistant Registrar. 7. The writ petition is disposed off subject to observations made above. There shall be no order as to costs. Order Date :- 6.3.2025 SS Digitally signed by :- SUNIL KUMAR SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad