APHC010346482026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3331] WEDNESDAY, THE 30th DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SUBBA REDDY SATTI WRIT PETITION NO: 18741/2026 Between: 1. KALINGA SEEMA SEVA SAMITHI, REPRESENTED BY ITS TREASUER, SRI P. CHELLAYYA, S/O LATE NARASIMHAPPADU, AGE 51 YEARS, R/ODNO 3-221, BC COLONY, RAGOLU VILLAGE, SRIKAKULAM RURAL MANDAL, SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT, 522001 ...PETITIONER AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, REGISTRATION AND STAMPS DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, VELAGAPUDI, AMARAVATI, ANDHRA PRADESH. 522237 2. THE COMMISSIONER AND INSPECTOR GENERAL, REGISTRATION AND STAMPS DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH, V SQUARE BUILDING, KSR PARK ROAD, WARD NO. 2, TADEPALLI, GUNTUR DISTRICT. 522501 3. THE DISTRICT REGISTRAR, REGISTRATION AND STAMPS DEPARTMENT, SRIKAKULAM, SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH. ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, more particularly one in the nature of a WRIT OF MANDAMUS to declare the impugned Order of the 3rd Respondent, the District Registrar, Srikakulam District vide proceedings in Lr.No.E1/Societies/674/2025, dated 04.08.2025 and 15.05.2026, whereby directed the Petitioners society to an onerous condition to furnish continuous annual lists from the date of its establishment as a condition precedent for accepting the annual list for the year 2025-2026, as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, ultra vires the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001, violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India, and violative of Principles of Natural Justice, and consequently direct the 3rd Respondent to accept and take on record the annual list and Executive Committee list of the Petitioner Society for the year 2025-2026, along with the prescribed fee, and permit the Society to continue its lawful activities without obstruction, and pass such other order or orders as this Honble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to direct the 3rd Respondent to forthwith accept the annual list and the newly elected Executive Committee list of the Petitioner Society for the year 2025- 2026 to enable the Petitioners Society to carry on its functions without any obstruction, in the interests of justice, pending disposal of the above writ petition and to pass Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. S SRINIVASA RAO Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR REGISTRATION AND STAMPS The Court made the following: ORDER Heard Sri S.Srinivasa Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Divya Theja, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Revenue for the respondents. 2. Assailing the endorsement issued by the 3rd respondent vide Lr.No.E1/Societies/674/2025, dated 15.05.2026 (Ex.P1), the above writ petition is filed. 3. The deponent is the Treasurer of the petitioner-Society. The petitioner- society is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 vide registration No.34 of 1990 dated 15.03.1990. Earlier the officer bearers of the petitioner-society failed to submit the annual lists under Section 9 of the A.P. Societies Registration Act, 2001. A General Body Meeting was held on 13.10.2024 and new Executive Committee was elected on 11.05.2025 for the year 2025-2026. Pursuant to resolution, a representation dated 19.07.2025 was submitted to the 3rd respondent and thereafter, a request was made to accept the Executive Committee list for the year 2025-2026, in terms of Section 9 of the Act 2001. By proceedings impugned, the 3rd respondent rejected the same. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon the judgments in Kasturidevi Vidyalayam Committee, Nellore Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others1 and Dr.Raghavarao Polavarapu and others Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others2, wherein the learned single Judge considered the identical issue. 5. Sri Divya Theja, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Revenue, did not dispute the legal proposition laid down in the above referred judgments. 6. The main grievance of the petitioner non-receiving of annual list by the Registrar concerned under Section 9 of the Act. It is the contention of the petitioner that the Registrar has no jurisdiction or reject the annual lists submitted by the petitioner-Society. The Registrar can only receive and keep them on file. 1 2022 (1) ALD 586 (AP) 2 2022 (2) ALD 31 (AP) 7. It is appropriate to extract Section 9 of the Act, 2001 which reads as follows: “Filling of annual list - Every year the society shall within fifteen days from the date on which the General Body meeting was held furnish a list to the Registrar of societies which shall contain the names and addresses of the members of the Managing Committee and Officers entrusted with the management of the affairs of the Society.” 8. A perusal of the said provision would indicate that every year, the Society shall furnish the annual list to the Registrar within fifteen days from the date of holding of the General Body Meeting. The Societies Registration Act, 2001 does not confer power to the Registrar to accept/reject the annual list. The language in the section would indicate that the Registrar has to receive and keep the annual list on file. Further, Act does not indicate the consequences of non-filing of annual list and also the delayed filing of annual list. In the absence of the same, when the Act does not confer any right to the Registrar in accepting or rejecting the annual list filed by the Society, the action of the Registrar in refusing to receive the annual list filed by the petitioners is beyond the power conferred under the Act. 9. In Dr.Raghavarao’s case, the Coordinate Bench of this Court held as follows: “…..This Court holds that the Registrar has no power either to „accept‟ or to „reject‟ an annual list filed under Section 9 of the Act. He can only acknowledge its receipt and file the same. A Mandamus is issued against the acceptance of one list while rejecting the other. Since there are seriously disputed questions on fact and law in this Writ Petition, this Court is not entering into those areas. Therefore, the other prayers made are rejected. The parties are left to choose their own options and to pursue their legal remedies as mandated by law including the correctness or otherwise of the lists etc., filed by them pursuant to the meetings held by the Society.” The order relied on by the petitioners is squarely applicable to the facts of the case. 10. In view of the above, since the Act neither provides any consequences for non-filing of annual list nor confer any right on the Registrar to accept or reject the annual list submitted by the petitioner-Society except to receive and keep it on file, the impugned proceedings issued by the 3rd respondent are liable to be set aside. Hence, this Court is inclined to pass the following order: (i) The proceedings issued by the 3rd respondent vide Lr.No.E1/Societies/674/2025, dated 15.05.2026 (Ex.P1), is set aside. (ii) The petitioner-Society is permitted to file annual list of the years 2025 - 2026 before the 3rd respondent. (iii) The 3rd respondent shall receive the annual lists submitted by the petitioners‟ society by virtue of Section 9 of the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001 and keep them on file. (iv) However, this order does not preclude the members of the society to settle the disputes, if any, before the jurisdictional Court in accordance with law. 11. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. No order as to costs. As a sequel, all the pending miscellaneous applications shall stand closed. ___________________________ JUSTICE SUBBA REDDY SATTI PVD