Satish Bhika Bhamre And ORS v. The District Coop Election Officer And ORS
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 7145 OF 2026 Satish Bhika Bhamre & Ors.
...Petitioners
V/s.
The District Co-op. Election Officer and Ors.
...Respondents
WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 7148 OF 2026 Jivan Sahebrao Hire
...Petitioner
V/s.
The District Co-op. Election Officer and Ors.
...Respondents
________________ Mr. Anilkumar Patil i/b. Mr. Digvijay Patil and Mr. Laxmikant Patil, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Dilip Bokade with Mr. Sharad T. Bhosal with Mr. Sharad T. Bhosale with Ms. Shraddha Pawar (through V.C.), for Respondent Nos.1 to 3. Mr. P.P. Kakade, Addl. Government Pleader with Ms. M.S. Srivastava, AGP for Respondent/State in WP-7145 of 2026.
Mr. Harihar Bhave with Ms. Divya Menon, Ms. Karishma Choudhari and Mr. Devandra Avadh, for the Intervenor.
Ms. S.D. Chipade, AGP for State in WP-7148 of 2026. ________________ 1 of
CORAM:
SANDEEP V. MARNE, J.
DATED: 10 June 2026.
P.C.:
1) These petitions are filed concerning elections to Shetkari Sahakari Sangh, Malegaon, Nashik. Petitioners are aggrieved by the voters list. The Petitioners in Writ Petition No. 7145 of 2026 are aggrieved by order dated 30 April 2026 passed by the District Cooperative Election Officer rejecting the objection for inclusion of 1023 names in the voters list. On the other hand, the Petitioners in Writ Petition No. 7148 of 2026 are aggrieved by separate order dated 30 April 2026 by which names of 873 eligible members were included in the voters list.
2) So far as Writ Petition No. 7145 of 2026 is concerned, the District Co-operative Election Officer has recorded an emphatic finding that objection was raised by Mr. Ashok Pundalik Avhade who himself is not an individual member of the Society. He filed an handwritten one page objection dated 20 April 2026 and appended list of 1023 persons to the same. The District Co-operative Election Officer has relied upon provisions of Rule 11(2) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Election to Committee) Rules, 2014 under which it is necessary for a Member to file a separate petition raising objection to the voters list. In that view of the matter, no infirmity can be traced in the order dated 30 April 2026 which is subject matter of challenge in Writ Petition No. 7145 of 2026.
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3) So far as Writ Petition No. 7148 of 2026 is concerned, District Co-operative Election Officer has recorded a specific finding that common objection was not filed and separate petitions were also appended to the objection by Mr. Keval Rambhau Patil Hire and 69 others. Thus, the objection for inclusion of names of 873 eligible members appears to be in conformity with the provisions of Rule 11(2) of the Election to Committee Rules, 2014. In that view of the matter, there is no infirmity in the order dated 30 April 2026 which is subject matter of challenge in Writ Petition No. 7148 of 2026. Consequently, both the petitions are devoid of merits and the same are disposed of. 4) However, Petitioners would be at liberty to question the validity of elections by preferring election petitions which would be decided un-influenced by any of the observations made in the present order.
NEETA SHAILESH SAWANT [SANDEEP V. MARNE, J.] NEETA SHAILESH SAWANT Date: 2026.06.11 11:12:57 +0530 3 of