In a recent judgment, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court overturned a previous decision that removed S. Krishnakumar from his membership in a co-operative society. Let's break down what happened.
S. Krishnakumar, the President of Aralvaimozhi Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Society, was removed from his membership because of accusations that he was involved in running a private finance business, which was said to go against the society's rules. The business in question was a pawn shop called 'M/s. Balaji Finance,' which was supposedly run by his wife.
The first court decided against S. Krishnakumar. The court thought that even though the pawn shop license was in his wife's name, Krishnakumar's role as a backup on the license and his social media posts suggested he was involved in running the business. This was seen as a conflict with what the society aimed to do.
“The first court found that individually taken any of these circumstances are not decisive or determinative.”
S. Krishnakumar challenged this decision, arguing that: - The pawn shop license was officially under his wife's name. - His role as a backup was only to ensure the business could continue if something happened to his wife. - The shop's location in Nagercoil was outside the area where the society operated, making it not important to the society's interests.
The Madurai Bench, led by Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Vijayakumar, found that: - The pawn shop's operation outside the society's area meant it didn’t interfere with the society's activities. - Social media posts were not reliable enough to be the only evidence. - Rules about removing members require careful interpretation and strong evidence, which were not present in this case.
“The findings of the first court are clearly based on guesses alone.”
The court canceled the previous decision to remove S. Krishnakumar, allowing him to keep his membership. This decision highlights the importance of having clear evidence and understanding the rules correctly when it comes to removing members from cooperative societies.
