- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DHARWAD BENCH DATED THIS THE 11TH DAY OF JULY 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRADEEP SINGH YERUR WRIT PETITION NO. 107703 OF 2024 (CS-EL/M) BETWEEN: 1. BABU S/O MASTI AGERA AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353, M NO: 396 2. SHANKAR S/O CHANDRU NAIK AGED 71 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 NO: 193 3. NARAYAN S/O VASU NAYAK AGED 53 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 1005 4. KASTURI GANAPATI NAIK AGED 66 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGILA, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:362 5. PRABHAKAR S/O MASTI AGERA AGED 56 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 374 6. RAKAMMA BOMMAYYA AGER AGED 66 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 386 7. MAHESH S/O GANAPU AGERA AGED 62 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 395 VIJAYALAKSHMI M KANKUPPI Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA DHARWAD BENCH - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 8. H. RAGARATI SHANTARAM AGED 63 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 399 9. RAGHUVEER S/O. TIMMANNA NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 409 10. GOURISH S/O. NARAYAN NAYAK AGED 59 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:452 11. RAMACHANDRA S/O. MANI GUNAGA AGED 66 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 470 12. SHANTALA GOURISH NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGILA, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 497 13. SAROJINI UMESH HARIKANTRA AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 510 14. KRISHNANAND S/O. TIMMANNA NAYAK AGED 50 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 511 15. JAYALAXMI GANARAJ NAYAK AGED 58 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 592 16. VEENA NARAYAN ACHARI AGED 45 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 972 - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 17. MANU S/O SUKRU GOWDA AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 2001 18. AYAMMA TIMMAPPA GOWDA AGED 45 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGILA, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 2039 19. KAMALAKAR S/O. BUDAVANT NAIK AGED 68 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGILA, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 216 20. HAMMANNA S/O. MANESHWAR NAYAK AGED 61 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGILA, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 413 21. RAMESH S/O. HONNA AGERA AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 499 22. SHESHU S/O. NARAYAN HARIKANTRA AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 486 23. RAJU S/O. NARAYAN NAYAK AGED 62 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 394 24. RAMAKRISHNA S/O. NARAYAN NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 457 25. TULASI PARAMESHWAR NAYAK AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 565 26. JAGADEESH S/O. CHANDRU HARIKANTRA AGED 54 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 614 27. PUSHPA HONNAPPA NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 624 28. DHANAVANT S/O DAMU HARIKANTRA AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 644 29. PRAKASH S/O GANAPATI HARIKANTRA AGED 45 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:645 30. ASHOK S/O. GHATTA HARIKANTRA AGED 50 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 646 31. RADHA GANAPATI ACHARI AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 659 - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 32. ARUNDATI DILEEP NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:663 33. VANITA VENKATRAMAN NAYAK AGED 45 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 677 34. RAMESH S/O PAEAMESHWAR NAYAK AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 697 35. RATNAKAR S/O RAMA HARIKANTRA AGED 50 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 722 36. MADEVA S/O VITPU HARIKANTA AGED 66 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 728 37. SUDHAKAR S/O GHATTA HARIKANTRA AGED 52 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:755 38. SANDEEP S/O VASUDEV ACHARI AGED 45 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 757 39. MOOKAMBE HONNAPPA ACHAR AGED 58 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 764 40. SUJATA PREMANAND NAIK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 794 41. GIREESH S/O. DEVANAND NAYAK AGED 39 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 878 42. PRASHANT S/O. DEVIDAS NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 891 43. BHARAT S/O. BOMMU GOWDA AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 927 44. RAJEEV S/O. HANNAPPA NAYAK AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 932 45. PREMA PRABHAKAR NAYAK AGED 60 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 933 46. DEVI VENKATESH HARIKANTRA AGED 55 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 934 - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 47. GANESH S/O KAMALAKAR HARIKANTRA AGED 38 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 959 48. DEVAKI ASHOK NAYAK AGED 65 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 1001 49. SHANTI RAMESH NAYAK AGED 65 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 1009 50. NARAYAN S/O. SHIVAPPA HARIKANTRA AGED 66 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: KANAGIL, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 2041 51. ISHWAR S/O. SHESHU HARIKANTRA AGED 62 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO: 2044 52. SHARMILA GOVIND NAYAK AGED 50 YEARS, OCC: AGRICULTURE R/O: HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 M NO:540 …PETITIONERS (BY SRI. VISHWANATH HEGDE, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. STATE OF KARNATAKA REP. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF CO-OPERATION M.S. BUILDING, 6TH FLOOR, BENGALURU-560001 - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 2. THE REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA, NO.1, ALI-ASKAR ROAD, BENGALURU-560052 3. CO-OPERATIVE ELECTION AUTHORITY, 3RD FLOOR, SHANTINAGAR, T.T.M.C, “A” BLOCK, SHANTINAGAR, BENGALURU-560027 REP. BY ITS SECRETARY, 4. DISTRICT CO-OPERATIVE ELECTION OFFICER AND DEPUTY REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES UTTARA KANNADA, KARWAR DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581301 5. RETURNING OFFICER, HICHKAD SEVA SAHAKARI SANGH NIYAMITHA, HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA AND CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, DEPUTY REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES OFFICE, KARWAR, DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581301 6. HICHKAD SEVA SAHAKARI SANGH NIYAMITHA, HICHKAD, TQ: ANKOLA DIST: UTTARA KANNADA-581353 REP. BY ITS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER …RESPONDENTS (BY SMT. MALA B. BHUTE, AGA FOR R1, R2 & R4; SRI. G.V. BHARAMAGOUDAR, ADVOCATE FOR R3 & R5; NOTICE TO R6 SERVED) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO a) ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI QUASHING THE FINAL INELIGIBLE VOTERS LIST ISSUED BY RESPONDENT NO.4 MARKED AT ANNEXURE-B IN SO FAR AS PETITIONERS ARE CONCERNED IN THE ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF 6TH RESPONDENT SOCIETY FOR THE TERM 2024 TO 2029. b) ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING THE RESPONDENTS TO CONDUCT THE ELECTIONS TO THE 6TH RESPONDENT SOCIETY FOR THE TERM 2024-2029 SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON 21-12-2024, PERMITTING THE PETITIONERS TO CAST THEIR VOTE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS IN TERMS OF ANNEXURE-A AND ETC. - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: ORAL ORDER (PER: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRADEEP SINGH YERUR) 1. This petition is filed by the petitioners seeking to quash the final ineligible voters list issued by respondent No.4 and a direction to the respondents to conduct election to 6th respondent society scheduled to be held on 21.12.2024 by permitting them to cast their vote and participate in the election and for other consequential orders. 2. The petitioners are duly admitted members of the 6th respondent-Society registered under the Karnataka Co- operative Societies Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to ‘the Act’, for short). The petitioners being agriculturists need the services of 6th respondent in order to combat rural indebtedness and to empower citizens in the rural sector. The Returning Officer declared the election to the 6th respondent-Society pursuant to which calendar of events were issued scheduling the date of election as 21.12.2024. - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 3. It is the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the respondents have not followed the provisions of Rule 13-D(2-A) of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Rules, 1960, and have not followed the procedure contemplated under the Act. It is the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that having violated the provisions of the Act and the Rules, they seek to quash the final ineligible voters list issued by respondent No.4. They contend that the right to form a co-operative society is a constitutional right and for the members to contest and cast their vote is a statutory right provided. It is further contended that though the petitioners took part in the activities of the society and attended the meetings of the society regularly, their names have been deleted from the eligible voters list on the ground that the petitioners have not attend annual general meeting and some of them are defaulters. Therefore, non-attendance of the meeting leading to disqualification of the petitioners to vote for the election cannot amount to violation of the rules and regulations of the Society. Therefore, the petitioners are before this Court seeking to quash the final ineligible voters list so far - 11 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 as the petitioners are concerned and to cast vote in the election scheduled to be conducted by the 6th respondent Society. 4. Per contra, learned counsel representing the State and other respondents contend that the action of the respondents do not call for interference, as final eligible voters list and non-eligible voters list have been published prior to calendar of events. On these grounds, they seek dismissal of the petition. 5. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned counsel for the respondents. 6. This Court vide order dated 19.12.2024 permitted the petitioners to cast their vote in the election based on which the petitioners have cast their vote and same are kept in a separate box and results were sought not to be declared without leave of the Court. Now the election is over. 7. Learned counsel for the Society contends that six months is already over and the elected body has not been declared in view of the pendency of this petition and due to - 12 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 interference by the petitioners in the election process. It is further contended that now the election has been conducted and the petitioners have participated in the election, it would be in the interest of the petitioners as well the respondents to declare the results including the vote cast by the petitioners and if any person is aggrieved by the result of the election, they would be at liberty to challenge the same in the manner known to law before the appropriate forum. 8. I am in agreement with the learned counsel for the petitioners and the respondents that since the petitioners were permitted to cast their vote, if the election results are announced, which are not seriously objected to by the respondents, the society can proceed further in its day to day activities. 9. Learned counsel for both parties rely upon the judgment of the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Writ Petition No.8502/2022 along with Writ Petition No.8477/20221 which is applicable to the present petition. Therefore, the Returning Officer is directed to announce the 1 DD on 07.06.2022 - 13 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-D:8615 WP No. 107703 of 2024 results forthwith including that of the petitioners kept in a separate ballot box. If any party is aggrieved by the out come of the result, he/they is/are at liberty to approach the appropriate authority for redressal of his/their grievances in accordance with law. 10. Under the circumstances, I pass the following order: i. This petition is disposed of. ii. The results of the election shall be declared and announced taking into consideration the vote cast by the petitioners. If any of the parties are aggrieved by the result of the election, they are at liberty to file appropriate proceedings before the appropriate forum in the manner known to law. Sd/- (PRADEEP SINGH YERUR) JUDGE Kmv CT-MCK