The Maharashtra Cooperation, Marketing and Textile Department has clarified that Returning Officers (ROs) cannot reject nominations for cooperative bank elections solely on the ground that a candidate has completed 10 consecutive years as a director under the amended Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The clarification follows a legal opinion issued by the Law and Judiciary Department on August 18, 2026, which endorsed the legal position put forward by Vidyadhar Anaskar, Administrator of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank.
The opinion examined whether an RO appointed under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies (Election to Committees) Rules, 2014 has the authority to reject a nomination based solely on the 10-year tenure restriction under the Banking Regulation Act.
In a letter issued on Friday, the Cooperation Department informed the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Maharashtra, and the Secretary of the State Cooperative Election Authority about the legal position and directed the concerned authorities to issue necessary instructions to field-level officers.
The Law Department noted that amended Section 10A(2A)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act provides for a restriction concerning cooperative bank directors who have completed 10 consecutive years in office. However, the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, does not contain a corresponding provision prescribing disqualification on this specific ground.
The opinion further observed that Rule 25(2) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies (Election to Committees) Rules, 2014 permits rejection of nominations on specified grounds, including disqualification under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, the Rules or the relevant bye-laws. It does not expressly empower an RO to determine or enforce a disqualification arising solely under the Banking Regulation Act.
The Law Department also distinguished between regulatory powers under banking law and the limited role of an RO during election scrutiny. Since the Banking Regulation Act assigns regulatory powers to the Reserve Bank of India, the existence of the 10-year restriction does not, by itself, expand the RO’s jurisdiction at the nomination stage.
Importantly, the opinion stated that the State Cooperative Election Authority’s January 16, 2026 circular cannot enlarge the statutory powers of ROs by directing them to reject nominations on the 10-year tenure ground without an express enabling provision.
The government’s latest communication is significant for cooperative bank elections in Maharashtra, where elections have been announced for two to three district central cooperative banks (DCCBs), including those in Pune and Latur, among others. Directors of urban cooperative banks (UCBs), including Wai Urban Cooperative Bank, may also benefit from the clarification.
While the 10-year tenure restriction remains part of the central banking law, its enforcement through rejection of nominations by Returning Officers cannot be assumed under the existing state election framework.
