Alka Verma-
Published on: August 28, 2021, at 11:14 IST
On Friday, Gujarat High Court ruled that the Gujarat Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2019 is unconstitutional, discriminatory, absurd, manifestly arbitrary, irrational and not in the public interest.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, Vikram Nath and Justice J B Pardiwaha has set aside the Amendment and declared it Ultra Vires.
According to the Amendment, the sugar factories had been removed from the list of specified cooperative societies mentioned in Section 74C (1) (v) of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961.
The deletion of sugar factories from the list, constructively took away State’s responsibility to contest elections of sugar factories.
Earlier the elections were conducted by the Collector. But after the deletion, the election would be conducted under the whims and caprice of the concerned cooperative sugar factories.
This raise a lot of concern and numerous Writ Applications were filed raising the protest over the exclusion of sugar factories.
The State and the Gujarat State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited defended the amendment stating that the aim was to reduce Government’s expenses and administrative burdens.
However, the Court stated, “What is the purpose sought to be achieved by the legislation with the enactment of the impugned amendment? Should the Government save money or ease itself with the administrative burden at the cost of free and fair election? The saving of money and the administrative burden are nowhere close to the public interest or are reasonable”.
Further, the Court added, “We are not at all impressed by the stance of the State that as the Sugar factories are not federal, they have been now kept out of the purview of Section 74C of the Act.”
“If the Government wants to save money and administrative time, then it should consider doing away with Section 74C itself. Why save time and expense in respect of just the Sugar factories? How much expense and time goes in these 13 Sugar societies, as opposed to the remaining which continue to be within the purview of Section 74C? The aforesaid makes the stance of the Government entirely artificial“, said the Court.
Also Read: Gujarat HC orders Custom Authority to consider Provisional release of Goods
Click here to read/download the Judgement