Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has restricted two persons from voting and participating in the elections to the post of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Goa Urban Cooperative Bank, scheduled on Monday.
The interim stay was granted taking cognisance of a petition filed by Anil Naik Gaunekar, whose panel won the elections to the Bank’s Board of Directors.
In his petition, the GUCB Director sought restraining Sonia Kunkalienkar, wife of former Panjim MLA Sidharth Kunkalienkar, and Prabhu Gaude from voting and participating in the elections. He challenged their appointment by GUCB Registrar Gurudas Pilarnkar stating the latter is not authorised to do so.
The court conceded that the appointment was in clear violation of Section 60(3) of the Goa Co-operative Societies Act. “…It is apparent there from that the respondent No. 2 (GUCB Registrar) without any justifiable reason has appointed both to the Board of Directors of the GUCB and in a clear violation of Section 60(3) of the Act… In the circumstances therefore, ad-interim stay is granted in terms of prayer clause (b) whereby (both appointees) are restrained from voting and participating in the election on June 5, 2017,” the order states. The court has issued notices to the respondents returnable by June 5.
