IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA
WRIT PETITION NO.2347 OF 2025(F)
(VALMIKI MENEZES & HITEN S. VENEGAVKAR, JJ)
(D.o.D. 09.06.2026)
Mr. Vivekanand Shridhar Pednekar … Petitioner
Versus
The State of Goa and Ors. … Respondents
Section 123A of Goa Co-operative Societies Act, 2001 – Scope – The provision mandates that, upon cessation of office, the outgoing office bearer shall hand over charge, records, books, documents and properties of the Society to the person or Committee legally entitled to receive the same. The language employed in Section 123A by the legislature leaves no room for discretion. The obligation is mandatory, and most importantly, the obligation is immediate with the sole object that the functioning of the Society should not be hampered or stalled and should effectively continue.(para 12)
The Petitioner has failed to disclose any sufficient cause within the meaning of Section 123A. The Petitioner consistently relied only upon the pendency of the election proceedings. Such a plea cannot constitute sufficient cause under the statute. Acceptance of such a contention would frustrate the very purpose and object of Section 123A of the Act and permit outgoing office bearers to indefinitely withhold records by merely challenging an election. (para 14)
In such circumstances, the period of default cannot be curtailed merely because Petitioner chose to forward records to Respondent No.3.
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