Interim winding up order does not disqualify cooperative society office bearers from voters' list participation until final confirmation.

An interim winding up or liquidation order under the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act does not by itself extinguish a society's registration or disqualify its managing committee members from electoral participation. Until a final order confirming the winding up is passed, the office bearers continue to hold office for purposes of the relevant voters' list and election process. On that basis, exclusion of the managing committee members from the agriculturist constituency voters' list was held unwarranted, and their inclusion in the final voters' list was affirmed.

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Issues: Whether the members of the managing committee of a cooperative society remain entitled to be included in the voters' list of the agriculturist constituency when only an interim winding up or liquidation order has been passed and no final order confirming the winding up has been made.

Analysis: On a conjoint reading of Sections 107, 108 and 20 of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, the interim order of winding up does not by itself extinguish the society's registration or automatically disqualify its office bearers from acting in that capacity. The office bearers are required to vacate office only when a final order confirms the interim order of winding up. Until then, the registration of the society continues, and the managing committee members continue to hold their offices for the purpose of participation in the relevant electoral process. The Court accepted and followed the earlier view that, where no final winding up order exists, exclusion of such members from the voters' list is unwarranted.

Conclusion: The exclusion of the members of the managing committee from the voters' list was illegal, and they were entitled to be included in the final voters' list and permitted to participate in the election.

Ratio Decidendi: An interim winding up or liquidation order under the cooperative societies law does not, by itself, disqualify the society's managing committee from electoral participation unless and until a final order confirming winding up is passed.

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