(1) Every cooperative society shall maintain a register of members. The name of every person admitted as a member of the cooperative society shall be entered in the register along with such particulars as may be deemed necessary by the Board.
EDUCATION OF MEMBER ETC.
EDUCATION OF MEMBER ETC.
(2) The name of a person -
(i) whose admission is refused under sub-section (2) of -» section 20; or
(ii) who has withdrawn from membership under section21;
(iii) who ceased to be a member under section22 ; or
(iv) whose membership has been terminated under section23 shall be deleted from the register of members :
Provided that the name of a person referred to in clause (i) or clause (iv) shall not be deleted from the register of members till expiry of 30 days from the date of the decision of the Board or Annual General Meeting, as the case may be, and in case an appeal is preferred under sub-section(2) of section23,as the case may be.
The register maintained under sub-section(l) shall be prima facie evidence of the date on which any person was admitted to the cooperative society as a member and of the date on which he ceased to be a member.
25.(1) Every cooperative society shall include a certain amount in its budget s annually, as provision for expenses on education of member and / potential member, education and training of staff and directors for the development of their cooperative societies in accordance with the cooperative principles specified in Schedule A and practices of cooperation, besides contributing at least 1% of profit or an amount specified by the Registrar in case of societies not earning profit ,to State Cooperative Union for cooperative education and training.
RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF MEMBERS OF REGISTERED SOCIETIES AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS THEREOF RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF MEMBERS OF REGISTERED SOCIETIES AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS THEREOF
26.(1) Every member of a registered society and every ex-officio member of the Administrative Council or Managing Body of such society, unless under some temporary disqualification, shall have the right to attend any general meeting of the society and to exercise vote at such meeting.
(2) No member of a cooperative society shall exercise the right of a member including the right of vote unless he has made such payment to the cooperative society in respect of membership or has acquired and continues to have such interest in the cooperative society as may be specified in the bye-laws.
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(3) The Chief Executive of every cooperative society within twenty days of closure of the previous cooperative year, shall prepare a list of members with the right of vote, and a list of members without the right of vote ,valid for the current financial year. The list shall be affixed on the notice board of the head office of the cooperative society for information of all members and any member not satisfied with specific instances of inclusion or non-inclusion of members in the lists, may appeal to the Board within ten days from the date of the affixing of the lists on the notice board, for re-examination of the records, and the Board shall within forty days of closure of the previous cooperative year, review the lists, finalise it, and have it affixed on the notice board of the head office of the cooperative society:
Provided that a member who is an employee or member of Employees Union of such society shall not be entitled to vote -
(i) at the election of a member of the Board of such society;
(ii) in any general meeting convened for framing the bye-laws of such society or any amendments thereto.
(4) In the case of equality of votes the Chairperson shall have a casting vote.
27 (1) In primary cooperatives societies, irrespective of the shares held in the society and subject to temporary disqualification .each member shall have equal voting right (one member one vote). Similarly in case of Secondary Cooperative Society, the representative of such cooperative society shall have same voting rights (one representative one vote).
Every member of cooperative society or the representative referred herein shall exercise his vote in person and in the manner specified in the bye-laws and no member or representative shall be permitted to vote by proxy :
Provided that a person shall have been a member for at least one full financial year, before being eligible to vote or to seek election to managing body:
Provided further that the condition of one year membership shall not apply to the members who join at registration or at any time after the registration of a cooperative society but before the first day of the next co-operative year.
(2) Every member of a cooperative society shall exercise his vote in the manner specified in the bye-laws.
28. The liability of a past and of the estate of a deceased member for the debt of a registered society as they existed at the date of his ceasing to be a member or on his death, as the case may be, shall continue for a period of five year from the said date.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CHAPTER -IV MANAGEMENT 29(1) The General Assembly of a cooperative society shall consist of all the members of such cooperative society who are eligible to vote at the general meeting of the society.
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(2) (a) Every member of a registered society and every ex-officio member of the Administrative Council or managing body of such society, unless under some disqualification, shall have the right to attend any general meeting of the society and to exercise his vote at such meeting:
Provided that the bye-laws of a registered society may prescribe-
(i) that a registered society affiliated to such society may have more than one representative entitled to vote at general meetings of the society; and
(ii) that only one third of the members of the General Assembly, excluding ex-officio members, may be individual members and the other two thirds being representatives of affiliated registered societies;
MATTERS TO BE DEALT WITH IN THE ANNUAL GENARAL MEETING
(b) if the number of individual members exceeds one third of the total membership of the society the individual members shall elect at a special meeting to be called by the Secretary of the society not more than thirty days before the Annual General Meeting in the manner prescribed in the bye-laws to represent in the Annual General Meeting, those individual members who, as the representative of the body of individual members shall form the one third membership of the General Assembly for the purpose of voting at the Annual and other meetings of the General Assembly during the ensuing year. Only such elected representatives shall have the right to attend and vote at such general meeting.
(3) If the general body of a cooperative society decides that the size .area or types of its membership requires a representative body of delegates for more effective decision making, its bye-laws shall provide for a smaller body, called “delegate general body” elected from the members, in the annual general meeting in accordance with the bye-laws, to exercise such powers and to discharge such duties of the general body as may be specified in the bye-laws.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the bye-laws ,the ultimate power of a cooperative society shall vest in the general body. The supreme authority shall however vest with the State Government or the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, as the case may be, during the pendency of any loan or service to the society from the Government.
(5) Any power, function or responsibility, falling within the scope of a cooperative society as a corporate body, which has not been specifically entrusted by this Act or the bye-laws, to any authority of the cooperative society may be dealt with by the General Body or by the State Government during the pendency of any loan or services to the society from the Government.
30 (1) The following matters in addition to others as are considered necessary by the Board shall be dealt with by the Annual General Meeting, namely:-
(a) election of the Directors or delegates if fallen due;
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(b) consideration of the long term plan and budget, when required;
(c) consideration of the annual operational plan and budget for the current financial year;
(d) consideration of the annual report of activities for the previous financial year including provisional financial statements of accounts if not audited;
(e) consideration of the audited financial statements of accounts, and the auditor’s report relating to the previous financial year or years;
(f) consideration of the report on deviations, if any from the approved budget relating to the previous financial year;
(g) disposal of surplus, if any, of previous financial year;
(h) management deficit, if any, of previous financial yeat;
(i) creation of specific reserves and other funds;
(j) review of actual utilisation of reserves and other funds;
(k) review of the report on the attendance at meeting by Directors;
(l) review of the use of the cooperative societies’ services by the directors;
(m) appointment of internal auditor, fixation of remuneration paid to any Director or member of any committee or internal auditor in connection with his duties in that capacity or his attendance at concerned meetings;
(n) review of quantum and percentage of service provided to non members vis-a-vis services provided to the members;
(o) report of activities and accounts related to education of member and Director and staff training;
(p) consideration of any other matter which may be brought before the meeting of the general body in accordance with the bye-laws;
(q) expulsion of members;
(r) disposal of appeals;
(s) formulation of code of conduct for the members of Board of Directors and officers appointed by the Board;
(2) The following matters among such other matters as considered necessary by the Board or which are specifically assigned to the general body_under any other provision of this Act may be dealt with by the general body at its annual or any general meeting, namely
(a) amendments of bye-law§,
(b) removal of Directors and election of new Director;
(c) membership of the cooperative society in secondary cooperative society;
(d) partnership with other cooperative societies;
(e) amalgamation, division, merger, transfer of assets and liabilities;
(f) dissolution of the cooperative society;
(g) consideration of the Registrar's report of inquiry and action taken thereon or reasons for the non completion of the inquiry;
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(3) If the bye-laws of the cooperative society provide for election of one or more Directors on territorial basis, such Director shall be elected from the areas, in a meeting of the members of that area in accordance with the provision of the bye-laws on a date prior to that of annual general meeting. The result thereof shall be affixed on the notice board of the head office of the cooperative society and also at the place of the annual general meeting prior to the commencement of the proceedings of the annual general meeting.
(4) All Directors shall cease to be Directors on the date of the Annual General Meeting, if the annual financial statement of accounts and annual report of activities for the previous financial year were willfully not prepared before 15 days of the Annual General Meeting for inspection of the members or for placing before the Annual a -x General Meeting.
TERM OF THE BOARD
31. The term of the Board shall be three Cooperative years.
GENERAL MEETING
32. The Board may, at any time, call a general meeting of the members of the cooperative society . However, one general meeting in every cooperative year must be convened by the Board.
SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING 33 (1) The Board may call a special general meeting and shall be bound to do so within forty five days of the date of receipt of a written requisition.
(a) signed by not less than twenty five percent of the members having right to vote; or
(b) from the Registrar. ,
(2) Such requisition shall contain the reasons why the meeting is felt necessary and the proposed agenda and no subject other than the subjects included in the proposed agenda shall be discussed at the special general meeting.
(3) If the Board fails to hold a special general meeting on requisition under sub-section (1) or any of the Annual Genera! Meeting under section 32 . \ within the period specified therein all directors shall cease to be directors on the date of expiry of the said specified period.
(4) Any meeting of the General Assembly other than the Special General Meeting may, with the consent of the majority of the members present, be adjourned from time to time to a later hour on the same day or to any other date as may be provided in this bye-laws, but no business other than that left over at the adjourned meeting shall be transacted at the next meeting.
A notice of such adjournment posted in the notice board of the head office of the cooperative society on the day on which the meeting is adjourned shall be deemed sufficient notice of the next adjourned meeting.
QUORUM OF MEETINGS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY