In a significant relief to the elected leadership of Thiruvalla East Co-operative Bank, the Kerala High Court has quashed the order superseding its Managing Committee and directed the reinstatement of the elected Board of Directors in place of the Administrator from November 18, 2026.
Justice Viju Abraham passed the judgment on November 12, 2026, while disposing of W.P.(C), filed by Chairman Prof. Dr. Jacob George and other members of the superseded Managing Committee.
The court set aside Order No. CRB 1081/2026 dated August 24, 2026, issued by the Pathanamthitta District Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, holding that the statutory procedure prescribed under Sections 32(1) and 32(2) of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969, had not been followed.
The court observed that the elected committee should have been given an opportunity to submit its objections before supersession. It also emphasised that consultation with the financing bank and the Circle Cooperative Union or State Cooperative Union was mandatory before taking such a drastic step.
Rejecting the authorities’ justification that granting an opportunity could lead to tampering with records, the court observed that such apprehensions were insufficient to dispense with the statutory safeguards. It reiterated that supersession of an elected cooperative committee should be resorted to only in exceptional circumstances.
The judgment also noted that the supersession carried serious consequences for committee members, including disqualification from contesting future elections.
In its operative directions, the court ordered that the Managing Committee be reinstated in place of the Administrator. However, the Inquiry Officer has been granted time until November 17 to seize files and records connected with the inquiry under Section 65 of the Act. Accordingly, the reinstatement must be implemented on November 18.
The court further directed the Joint Registrar to initiate fresh proceedings under Section 32, strictly following the prescribed statutory procedure. Until fresh proceedings are issued, the reinstated committee can undertake only day-to-day activities and cannot take policy decisions affecting the bank.
The Thiruvalla East Co-operative Bank is an Urban Cooperative Bank operating under an RBI banking licence. Its elected Managing Committee had assumed office on November 28, 2021, with its term scheduled to end on November 27, 2026.
The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate K. Gopalakrishna Kurup and other advocates, while Senior Advocate George Poonthottam represented the Administrator. The State Government and Joint Registrar were represented by Additional Advocate General P. A. Mohammed Shah and Advocate Arun Chandran. Senior Advocate Sumathy Dandapani appeared for the RBI.
