Kochi : The High Court on Saturday ruled that Registrar has full powers to disqualify members of the Director Board at cooperative societies. The ruling came from Full Bench that shed greater clarity to provisions stated in the Co-operative law.
The Full Bench comprised justices PB Suresh Kumar, PV Kunjikrishnan and CS Sudha. In their verdict, the judges also ruled that Arbitration Tribunal can take decisions with regard to disqualifying of directors within a month of Board elections. However, the provision does not in any manner diminish the powers of the Registrar for Co-operatives, the Bench said.
As per section 42(2) of the Co-operative law, a Board director who defaults on his loan would be rendered disqualified from continuing his post. When a loan defaults, the Board should serve a notice to the concerned director asking to pay in a month’s time. If the one-month duration lapses with arrears still pending, the Registrar holds power to disqualify the concerned director. And, even if the defaulting director pays up at a later point, the disqualification will still hold good, the Bench clarified.
