Registrar empowered to appoint Administrator under Section 35(5) DCS Act for fair elections during status quo.

The term of the Managing Committee (MC) of the Petitioner Society was set to expire on October 13, 2022

Following the resignation of three out of seven MC members, the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) appointed an Administrator-cum-Returning Officer (RO) on December 12, 2022, under Section 35(5) of the Delhi Co-operative Societies (DCS) Act, 2003

This was challenged in a previous petition [W.P.(C) 17582/2022], where a status quo order was granted on January 5, 2023

While that petition was pending and status quo was operational, the MC co-opted new members and issued an election notice on September 15, 2025, appointing its own RO

The previous petition was disposed of on August 13, 2025, quashing the RCS’s initial appointment for lack of reasoning but granting the RCS liberty to pass a fresh speaking order under Section 35

Consequently, on September 26, 2025, the RCS passed the impugned order appointing Respondent No. 3 as Administrator-cum-RO, citing violations of Bye-law 23(i)

The Petitioner challenged this second appointment, while the Court-appointed RO proceeded to conduct elections on January 11, 2026, resulting in a new MC

Whether the RCS was empowered to invoke Section 35(5) of the DCS Act to appoint an Administrator-cum-RO while the Managing Committee claimed to have already initiated the election process.

Whether the Managing Committee was permitted to call for elections and co-opt members during the operation of a judicial status quo order without leave of the Court.

The Court applied Section 35(5) of the Delhi Co-operative Societies Act, 2003, which empowers the RCS to appoint an administrator if a committee fails to arrange for elections before the expiry of its term

It also considered Clause 23(i) of the Society’s Bye-laws regarding the resignation of committee members and the resulting deficiency in quorum

The Court distinguished the present facts from the principles in The New Friends Co-op House Building Society Ltd. v. RCS and Jamia Cooperative Bank Limited v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi, which generally restrict the appointment of administrators if the Society has already made bona fide arrangements for elections

The Court observed that the MC was functioning under a status quo order passed in the earlier litigation

It held that the MC had a duty to inform and seek permission from the Court before calling for elections or co-opting members while the status quo was in force; acting unilaterally constituted a breach of that duty

The Court emphasized that the RCS’s power to pass a fresh speaking order was specifically preserved by the High Court's previous judgment dated August 13, 2025

Therefore, the RCS was fully empowered to invoke Section 35(5) of the DCS Act to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections through an independent Administrator-cum-RO

The Court noted that the intervention was necessary because the MC’s attempt to conduct elections in September 2025 did not comply with the statutory framework under the prevailing legal circumstances

Since the elections were successfully conducted on January 11, 2026, and a new Managing Committee was constituted, the Court declared the writ petition infructuous

The Court declined to interfere with the results, noting that a challenge to the newly elected MC is already pending in arbitration under Section 70 of the DCS Act

The petition and all pending applications were disposed of