In a significant development, the Goa government has finally acted upon the directions of the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court by appointing a three-member administrator committee to oversee the operations of the Goa State Cooperative Bank.
This move comes in response to the court’s sharp criticism over the government’s inaction, despite the expiry of the bank’s Board of Directors’ five-year term in September 2024.
The newly formed committee includes Chartered Accountant Santosh Kenkre, Laxmikant Naik, and IAS officer Vishant Gawnekar.
Talking to Indian Cooperative correspondent, the outgoing Chairman of the bank, Ulhas B. Phal Dessai, said, “It’s a general decision, and we are happy. Earlier, we had also informed the state government about the need to appoint an administrator or conduct the election. I will not contest the next election due to my age and personal business commitments, but my group will participate. We firmly support the decision.”
The issue was brought to the court’s attention through a petition filed by Uday Prabhu, President of Sahkar Urban Credit Cooperative Society. The petition challenged the legitimacy of the continued functioning of the bank’s board and named the Goa government, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, and the board itself as respondents.
The previous Board of Directors was elected on or before August 30, 2019, and held its first meeting on September 10, 2019. With its term ending on September 9, 2024, the board had no legal authority to continue. Nonetheless, it remained in office for eight months without statutory approval, drawing legal and public criticism.
Since the state government holds equity in the bank, Section 66 of the Goa Cooperative Societies Act mandates the appointment of an administrator upon the expiry of a board’s term, with no scope for extension. The High Court, noting this statutory breach, sought a response from the authorities.
Just a day before the scheduled hearing of the petition, the government swiftly removed the sitting board and appointed the administrator committee — a move widely seen as an attempt to pre empt further judicial action.
However, the controversy may not end there. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies is now expected to answer questions regarding the legality of policy decisions made by the defunct board during its unauthorized tenure.
Ironically, this governance crisis has emerged at a time when the Goa State Cooperative Bank has been delivering exceptional financial results. Once struggling with losses, the bank has posted record profits year after year. For the financial year 2024–25, its net profit surged to Rs 10.97 crore as of 31st March 2025, more than doubling the previous year’s figure of Rs 4.82 crore.