BENGALURU: Pointing out the numerous incongruities in the Karnataka Cooperative Societies (KCS) Act, 1959 and Rules, 1960, the Karnataka High Court said that an overhaul of the statute is urgently required.
“A new legislative framework will enable co-operative societies in Karnataka to function democratically and efficiently, free from the recurring litigation that presently engulfs them,” said the High Court, directing the registry of the court to forward a copy of this order to the Law Commission of Karnataka to consider the observations and recommendations made in the order.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while dismissing the petition filed by one Shankar, contending that the action of Idagundi Vividoddesh Prathamik Grameen Krushi Sahakara Sangha Niyamitha to nominate one Shivaram as a delegate to the DCC Bank in Uttara Kannada was not proper.
The court noted that the KCS Act, 1959 and the KCS Rules, 1960, have been subjected to piecemeal amendments over decades. Unfortunately, while introducing such amendments, the interplay and cascading effect on existing provisions do not appear to have been sufficiently considered.
As a result, the statute has become a patchwork of conflicting provisions that are no longer suited to the modern socio-economic environment.
Courts have attempted to apply the principle of harmonious construction, but where reconciliation itself becomes impossible, legislative reform is the only viable solution, the court said.