The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the constitutional validity of a Maharashtra amendment that reduces the maximum number of directors in a co-operative society from 36 to 21. A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued a notice, limiting the review to whether the amendment is legally justified.
The Maharashtra State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2013 introduced Section 73AAA, which restricts the number of management committee members to 21. Previously, co-operative societies could have up to 36 directors.
The petitioners argue that this change was made only to align with the 97th Constitutional Amendment, which applied to multi-state co-operative societies but not state-level societies.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the petitioners, cited the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment in Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021), where the court ruled that the central amendment did not apply to state co-operative societies.
She argued that unless the state legislature independently evaluates the interests of all stakeholders, reducing the number of directors lacks justification.
"The amendment was introduced without proper rationale, affecting fair representation in tribal-dominated districts."
The petitioners, who are directors of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Tribal Development Corporation Limited (MSCTDC), claim the amendment violates Articles 14 (Right to Equality) and 19(1)(c) (Freedom to Form Associations) of the Constitution.
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The petitioners highlight that tribal development corporations need 36 directors to ensure fair representation across districts with large tribal populations. Reducing this number could undermine effective governance.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether the amendment is constitutionally valid or if it unfairly restricts representation in co-operative societies.
The High Court dismissed the petition, leading the petitioners to approach the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court kept the matter for the next hearing on April 25, 2025.
Case no. – Sunil & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
Case Title – Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 7089/2025
