IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.6015 of 2010 Sri Kant Singh S/O Shri Jamuna Singh R/O Vill.- Prabodhi Narendra, P.O. And P.S.- Sarai, Distt.- Vaishali At Hazipur Versus 1. The State of Bihar through Its Secretary, Co-Operative Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna 2. The Registrar, Co-Operative Societies, Bihar, Patna 3. The District Officer, Vaishali-Cum-District Election (Co- Operative Societies) 4. The Superintendent of Police, Vaishali, Hazipur 5. The Block Development Officer, Lalganj Sarai-Cum-Election Officer, Anwarpur Panchayat Pacs 6. Anwarpur Panchayat Primary Agricultural Credit Co-Operative Society Ltd., Anwarpur Under Lalganj Sarai Block, Distt.- Vaishali, Hazipur 7. Laxmi Devi W/O Shri Ram Ekbal Rai R/O Vill. And P.O.- Anwarpur, P.S.- Lalganj Sarai, Distt.- Vaishali, Hazipur 8. The Assistant Registrar, Co-Operative Societies, Hazipur Circle, Hazipur ------------------------ 02/ 08.09.2011 Heard Mr. Ishwari Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Ms. Divya Verma, Assisting counsel to A.A.G. 3 for the State. The only grievance raised in the writ petition is that the District Co-operative Officer, Vaishali at Hajipur holding charge of the Office of the Assistant Registrar, Hajipur and being the District Deputy Election Officer, (Co-operative Societies), cannot hear election disputes referred to him by the respondent Registrar, Co- operative Societies, Bihar Patna. Short facts of the matter is that the petitioner had raised an election dispute under Section 48 of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 before the respondent no. 2, the Registrar, Co- operative Societies, Bihar, Patna, giving rise to Election Dispute 2 Case No. 127 of 2009 seeking inter alia, to set aside the election of the respondent no. 7 as Chairman of Anwarpur Primary Agriculture Co-operative Society. By order dated 3.11.2009, the Registrar, Co- operative Societies while admitting the case had transferred the same to the Court of Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Hajipur for hearing and disposal. It is not in dispute that the Registrar, Co-operative Societies is vested with sufficient powers under the Act to transfer the case to the Assistant Registrars who are also vested with the powers to adjudicate on election disputes. It so appears that at the time of such transfer the District Co-operative Officer, Vaishali was holding an additional charge of Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Vaishali. In this circumstance the petitioner filed objection to the said transfer requesting the Registrar to either hear the matter himself or transfer the same to some other competent authority as the District Cooperative Officer holding additional charge of Assistant Registrar was not authorized to hear election disputes. The request has remained pending. It is in this background that the present writ petition came to be filed seeking a direction to the Registrar, Co-operative Societies to either hear and dispose of the election dispute himself or to transfer it to some other appropriate election authority. Learned counsel for the petitioner has, during the course of argument, produced a letter bearing memo no. 8204 dated 22.12.2009 issued by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, inter alia, holding that the District Co-operative Officers holding 3 Additional post of Assistant Registrars need not be assigned the power of adjudicating election disputes. It is not in dispute that at the relevant time when the election dispute was referred to the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies for hearing, at that stage the District Co-operative Officer, Vaishali was holding an additional charge of Assistant Registrar and the substantive post of Assistant Registrar was vacant. A counter affidavit has been filed by the Assistant Registrar (L.R.) Co-operative Societies, Bihar, Patna and in paragraph 5 thereof the deponent while admitting this position, submits that the position has since changed and at present the District Co-operative Officer, Hajipur is not holding the post as the In-Charge Assistant Registrar rather he has been notified as Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies and thus he is now competent to hear and dispose of the election disputes. In that view of the matter, no further indulgence is called for. The writ petition is dismissed. S.Sb/- (Jyoti Saran, J.)