Hearing a petition filed by Jeet Ram Gupta in the Delhi High Court, the Court has quashed the order appointing the Managing Director S K Nag as MD of National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCUI). Mr Nag an IAS officer was given additional charge as MD on December 2013 by the Central Government.
The learned Judges ruled “It needs no further argument to reach the conclusion that the Office Order dated December 23, 2013 is without jurisdiction. We quash the same.”
The order further says “If the Central Government is of the opinion that an Administrator of the Society needs to be appointed it would be free to exercise that power but in the manner as prescribed by law.”
Readers could recall that a vicious fight is going on between the NCCF elected board members and the bureaucrats of the Consumer Ministry with each side leveling charges of wrong-doings on the other.
The Ministry is planning to challenge this order in the Supreme Court. However the case filed by the NCCF Board has been postponed to August for hearing after the vacations. This judgment on a private PIL gave a shot in the arm of Virendra Singh and the team.
With this order experts say the next course of action before the Ministry is superseding the Board. An anguished Chairman Virendra Singh told Indian Cooperative ”we would knock at the door of the court once again should the govt think on this line.”
He lamented the lack of support from the cooperative fraternity. I have not received any phone calls from any of the cooperative federations though there are so many of them. It not a fight between the NCCF and the Government rather it’s a fight for autonomy of cooperatives against the arm-twisting tactics of the Central government, he added.
The High Court order has once again established the supremacy of the Multi State Cooperative Act, 2002 which is going to benefit all the cooperative federations such as IFFCO, KRIBHCO or NAFED. It is time each should pitch in their bit so that the movement attains liberation from the governmental shackles, he said.
Virendra Singh, however appreciated the support extended by the NCCF board including members like Bijender Singh, NAFED Chairman and Vishal Singh, Vice-Chairman.
It may be worth “exploring” if the act of bureaucracy be looke upon as a lack of service or deficiency in service for it appears the time has come to view “cooperatores are service receivers when Government appoints an Administrator to protect the interest of cooperators. With Parliament emphasising on Member Control what bureaucrauy does should not be branded as a control measure. Let it be put to judicial scrutiny as to who is right and who is wrong the Board or Cureaucracy tested with a touchstone of Service / support to cooperative movement.
No doubt the judiciary has rightly passed the order, since the the Appointing Authority is only the BoD. After 2009, the Chairman himself used to pick & choose MD, as per his own choice including the official(s) from the Ministry and regularize the appointment through Board. Owing to tussle between the Ex-MD MK Parida (JS, MoCA)and the Chairman which reached its NADIR, the appointment of SK Nag is now stalled through this W/P filed by an Ex-employee of NCCF Jeet Ram Gupta who is no way concerned with the appointment of NCCF. However, on the other side, the Hon Court has given leverage and liberty to the Ministry to invoke section 122 & 123 of MSCA,2002 looking into the current affairs of NCCF which is a set-back to the Chairman though he may feel happy on one side. Now it is CATCH 22 situation. Damocles sword is hanging on the leader.
It was remarked by me on 12th instant “Damocles sword is hanging on the leader” which exactly happened and fell on the leader on 16th. Yes, the Board of NCCF has been superseded and the same JS M.K.Parida appointed as “Administrator” by the Ministry. It also coincides with the downfall of UPA Government.