HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday faulted the state government for interfering in the affairs of the Sircilla District Co-operative Electric Supply Society (CESS) and making the governing body defunct without holding elections to the society.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy directed the state government to inform the court the schedule to conduct elections to the CESS, which had 3.5 lakhs members, within 24 hours. The bench also made it clear to the government that if it did not receive the election date in time, then it would summon the principal secretary of the cooperation department.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by CESS member A. Kanakaiah from Vilasnagar of Rajanna Sircilla district, who said the government was delaying the elections by bringing GO 151 in April 18 and appointing a 15-member in-charge committee. On an earlier occasion, the court had stayed the implementation of the GO 151 and directed the government to conduct the elections. Despite the court orders, no step has been taken so far to conduct the elections.
Additional advocate general J. Ramachandra Rao on Tuesday told the court that the government had amended the Act to enable it to appoint persons in-charge and also to extend their term and the constitutional validity of the law was not challenged
However, the additional AG was faced with the disapproval of the bench and stated that the government would prepare the electoral rolls within three months. He wanted the court to allow the state-appointed committee to run the society by vacating the stay order issued earlier that prevented the committee from taking over.
Senior counsel Kondam Vivek Reddy, who appeared for the petitioner, said the petitioner challenged the validity of the amendments brought in by the state. The state had been diluting the spirit behind the cooperative movement, he said, adding that instead of allowing the CESS to be run through the elected bodies, the state had been forcing either a rule by an officer or by its nominees.
