The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to stay the Maharashtra government's ordinance granting voting rights to four nominated directors of Gokul Dairy, allowing them to participate in the November 10 chairman election while directing that their votes be kept separately.
Hearing a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the ordinance, Justice Neeraj Dhote of the High Court's Aurangabad bench ordered that the entire election process be videographed and photographed. The court posted the matter for further hearing on November 25.
The order came amid mounting political opposition to the government's decision, with Opposition leaders and dairy farmers staging a large demonstration in Kolhapur, alleging that the ordinance was intended to overturn the electoral advantage secured by the Congress-backed panel.
In the recently concluded election to the 25-member board of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd, popularly known as Gokul Dairy, the panel led by Congress MLC Satej Patil won 13 seats, securing a narrow majority over the Mahayuti-backed panel, which won 12.
However, the state government's subsequent decision to nominate additional directors with voting rights has altered the electoral arithmetic ahead of the chairman election.
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ
The High Court permitted all 29 directors, including the four government nominees, to participate in Tuesday's election but directed that the nominated members' ballots be placed in a separate box.
Petitioner's advocate Srikrushna Ganbawle said the arrangement would allow the disputed votes to be identified when the court finally decides the petition.
He clarified that although the election results would be announced, the final outcome would remain subject to the court's ruling.
The petition challenges the constitutional validity of the ordinance, particularly its retrospective application to an election process that had already commenced.
Days after the October 19 Gokul Dairy board election, the Maharashtra cabinet approved a provision allowing the appointment of five government-nominated members to managing committees of cooperative institutions with annual turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore, excluding district central cooperative banks.
Under the provision, four nominated members would have voting rights. Gokul Dairy, which has an annual turnover exceeding Rs 4,000 crore, falls within its scope.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ
Meanwhile, hundreds of dairy farmers and Opposition supporters marched towards the district collectorate in Kolhapur, accompanied by cattle, to protest the government's decision.
The agitation was jointly led by NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana chief Raju Shetti.
Addressing demonstrators, Satej Patil alleged that state ministers Hasan Mushrif and Chandrakant Patil were responsible for the decision to appoint nominated directors and accused them of attempting to weaken democratic institutions and the cooperative sector.
Patil said the agitation had grown beyond Kolhapur and become an issue affecting cooperative institutions across Maharashtra.
Claiming that he was fighting for the interests of 5.5 lakh dairy farmers, the Congress leader alleged that the ruling alliance was seeking to secure positions for its political associates and family members.
He also said the protest had laid the foundation for political change in Maharashtra ahead of the 2029 elections.
๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐
NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil alleged that the government had introduced voting rights for nominated expert directors specifically to overcome the majority secured by the Congress-backed panel.
He warned that allowing the government to appoint voting members whenever the ruling alliance failed to secure control of a cooperative institution could establish a dangerous precedent.
Farmer leader Raju Shetti maintained that Gokul Dairy belonged to Kolhapur's milk producers rather than any political party or individual.
He questioned the retrospective application of the ordinance, arguing that nominated directors had traditionally provided technical and legal guidance without participating in elections.
Shetti alleged that the ordinance had been introduced after the ruling alliance lost the board election to influence the selection of the chairman.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule also supported the agitation, accusing the state government of attempting to take control of the cooperative despite the electoral victory of Satej Patil's panel.
๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The Maharashtra government has defended the amendment, citing the deadlock over the chairman election after neither group could independently meet the required quorum of 14 directors.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier argued that the inability to convene the board meeting necessitated intervention, while the Opposition maintained that the ordinance interfered with the cooperative's electoral mandate.
The dispute will now move to Tuesday's chairman election, where the four nominated directors will be permitted to vote under the High Court's interim arrangement.
Although the results can be declared, the validity of the disputed votes and the election outcome will remain subject to further judicial proceedings, with the next hearing scheduled for November 25.