Registrar Cane Cooperative Societies & Ors. Vs Gurdeep Singh Narval (Dead) Through Lrs. & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court held that in the absence of multiple State objects in the bye-laws of the Societies, the same cannot be treated as Multi-State Cooperative Societies, as statutory pre-conditions for invoking Section 103 of Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 are absent.
Facts- These batch of appeals raise an important question regarding legal status of two Sugarcane Cooperative Societies on bifurcation of erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh and interplay between Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 (Reorganisation Act) and Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 (2002 Act).
The core issue is whether Sugarcane Growers Cooperative Societies, Bajpur and Gadarpur, situated in Udham Singh Nagar, District of Uttarakhand could be treated as Multi-State Cooperative Societies by operation of Section 103 of 2002 Act, despite their prior reorganisation and confinement of their area of operations to a single State, under the statutory framework governing State reorganisation.
Conclusion- Held that it is a cardinal principle of interpretation of statutes that provisions contained in two statutes must be, if possible, interpreted in a harmonious manner to give full effect to both the statutes. The overriding effect of Reorganisation Act and effect of Section 103 of the 2002 Act necessitates a harmonious construction by which operation of legal fiction has to be restricted, in cases where action for reorganisation of the Societies has already been taken and in respect of the Society whose objects and area of operation are confined to a single State. A deeming provision under Section 103 of 2002 Act cannot unsettle such completed action for reorganisation, by virtue of Sections 87 and 93 of the Reorganisation Act. In the absence of multiple State objects in the bye-laws of the Societies, the same cannot be treated as Multi-State Cooperative Societies, as statutory pre-conditions for invoking Section 103 of 2002 Act are absent.
