The Supreme Court of India has clarified that cooperative societies do not automatically become multi-state entities merely due to state bifurcation.
A Bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha ruled that the Bajpur and Gadarpur Sugarcane Growers Cooperative Societies cannot be treated as Multi-State Cooperative Societies under the Multi?State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
The dispute arose after the creation of Uttarakhand under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. Although the societies initially had operational areas in both states, later administrative orders removed the Uttar Pradesh villages from their jurisdiction.
The Court held that since the societies’ operations ultimately remained confined to a single state, the conditions for automatic conversion into multi-state cooperatives were not met.
