Registrar must promptly conduct fresh society elections after the elected body’s tenure expires.

The petitioner challenged the order dated 17 November 2021 passed by the Registrar of Firms and Societies, Chhattisgarh, concerning the management and elected body of Shri Agrasen Sewa Sangh, a registered society.

He sought quashing of the Registrar’s order, dissolution of the existing committee, and restoration of the society’s management to its founder members.

During the proceedings, respondent No. 4 and the State submitted that the tenure of the elected office-bearers had expired and that no fresh election had yet been conducted.

The petitioner disputed the validity of the earlier election and alleged that the former office-bearers continued to function despite expiry of their tenure and were proceeding to conduct another election unlawfully.

Whether the petitioner’s challenge to the continuance of the previously elected body remained effective after the expiry of its tenure.

Whether directions were required to ensure that fresh elections of Shri Agrasen Sewa Sangh were conducted expeditiously and in accordance with law.

Whether the petitioner could raise objections concerning the validity of the earlier election and the proposed fresh election before the competent authority.

The Court applied the principle that the affairs of a registered society, after expiry of the elected body’s tenure, must be administered through a valid electoral process conducted in accordance with the governing law and the society’s applicable rules.

It further recognized that challenges to the legality of an earlier or proposed election should ordinarily be raised before the competent statutory or administrative authority, which must consider them in accordance with law.

No specific statutory provision or judicial precedent was expressly relied upon in the order.

The Court held that, because the tenure of the private respondents had already expired, the petitioner’s substantive challenge to their continued tenure had substantially lost its practical efficacy.

However, the Court noted that the society’s affairs were allegedly still being conducted on the basis of the expired election and that the process for a fresh election remained incomplete.

To address this administrative and governance vacuum, the Court directed the Registrar to take immediate and appropriate steps for conducting and expeditiously completing fresh elections.

At the same time, it preserved the petitioner’s right to challenge both the earlier election and the proposed fresh election before the competent authority, rather than adjudicating those disputed questions directly in the writ petition.

The Court found that the relief concerning continuance of the earlier elected body had substantially become ineffective due to expiry of its tenure.

Respondent No. 2, the Registrar of Firms and Societies, Chhattisgarh, was directed to take immediate steps, in accordance with law, to conduct and complete fresh elections of the society expeditiously.

The petitioner was granted liberty to raise all objections regarding the legality of the earlier and proposed elections before the competent authority, which was directed to decide them in accordance with law.

No order as to costs was made.