HC refuses interim stay on Gokul ordinance; four nominated directors allowed to vote in chairman’s election

Justice Neeraj Dhote further rejected the panel’s plea to defer the chairman’s election until the final disposal of its petition

PUNE: In a setback to the Congress MLC Satej Patil-led panel, the Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant an interim stay on the state government’s ordinance allowing the appointment of nominated directors to the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, popularly known as Gokul. The court also allowed the four nominated directors to vote in the election of the new chairman.

The election will be held on November 10, with all 25 elected directors and the four government-nominated directors eligible to exercise their franchise. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

Justice Neeraj Dhote further rejected the panel’s plea to defer the chairman’s election until the final disposal of its petition.

The election will be held on November 10, with all 25 elected directors and the four government-nominated directors eligible to exercise their franchise.

The Patil-led panel had approached the high court challenging the ordinance, contending that it was unconstitutional, undemocratic and contrary to cooperative society laws.

The order is a significant setback for the panel, which had won 13 of the 25 elected director seats against 12 secured by the Mahayuti-backed panel. With the four nominated directors also allowed to vote, the Mahayuti-backed panel is better placed to secure the chairman’s post.

Patil acknowledged that the court’s order was a ‘setback’ for his panel. “We will explore further legal options on the issue,” he said.

“The court has directed that there should be a separate ballot box where the four nominated directors will cast their votes. The ballot box with the ballot papers must be preserved by the authorities as it could be needed for further hearings on the issue by the court,” said Ganbawale, adding that the next hearing in the case will take place on November 25.

During the hearing, Singhvi argued that the state government was attempting to engineer a majority in Gokul to ensure that its preferred candidate became chairman. Rohatgi countered that if nominated members of the Rajya Sabha were allowed to vote, there was no reason why nominated directors in cooperative societies should be denied the same right.

Welcoming the court’s order, NCP cabinet minister Hassan Mushrif said the votes of the four nominated directors would be counted in deciding the winner of the chairman’s election.

“The elections for the chairman will smoothly take place following the court’s order. The Mahayuti led panel will decide its consensus candidate for the chairman’s post tomorrow morning before the directors cast their votes. The state government’s decision to appoint nominated directors is to ensure that the imbroglio ends for the chairman’s post and prevent the appointment of an administrator,” he added.