A court judgment ordinarily brings a controversy to an end. A legislature, on the other hand, remains free to change the law. Both propositions are fundamental to constitutional democracy. Difficulty arises when a new law comes after a judicial decision and appears to produce substantially the same result which the court had already disapproved.

That is why the recent developments concerning the Jammu and Kashmir State Cooperative Bank deserve attention beyond the immediate interests of the Bank or its members.

On 22 September 2026, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, L.A. Bill No. 9 of 2026. Public reports describe its broader purpose as amendment of the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies Act, 1989, repeal of the Jammu and Kashmir Self-Reliant Cooperative Act, 1999, and creation of a transitional framework for societies governed by the latter enactment. The Bill was passed after discussion in the House. 

The authenticated text of the particular provisions affecting the J&K State Cooperative Bank is, at the time of writing, not publicly available. That limitation must be stated at the outset. One should therefore avoid pronouncing upon the validity of a provision without first seeing its precise language.Yet the circumstances surrounding the Bank already raise an important constitutional question.

The unfinished electionThe history is significant.In 2020, the elected Board of Directors of the J&K State Cooperative Bank was superseded and a nominated Board was installed. Litigation followed.On 15 July 2022, in Kashmir Valley Cooperative Housing Society v. UT of J&K, WP(C) No. 2775/2021, the High Court examined the statutory life of the nominated Board. In paragraphs 9 and 10 of the judgment, the Court held that the nominated Board could remain only up to 4 October 2022 and that it was incumbent upon the Government or the Registrar to reconstitute the Board by holding elections in accordance with the Act, Rules and bye-laws of the Bank. 

That was not an observation in passing. It was the operative direction of the Court.Elections, however, did not follow.Instead, another Government order dated 21 January 2023 sought to reconstitute a nominated Board for a further period. That action too was challenged.

In Kashmir Valley Cooperative Society v. UT of J&K, WP(C) No.174/2023, decided on 7 April 2023, the High Court again examined the matter. The judgment is particularly important because it went beyond the technical interpretation of a statutory provision.In paragraph 23, the Court observed that cooperative societies registered under the Act are democratic institutions whose affairs are intended to be run through duly elected Boards. It noted that they are autonomous institutions governed by their General Bodies and that governmental intervention arises only upon the occurrence of defined statutory exigencies. Significantly, the Court said that continuation of a nominated Board in perpetuity would be contrary to the object of the Act. 

The impugned reconstitution was quashed. The Court again directed elections.The matter thereafter travelled to the Division Bench. On 22 July 2024, in UT of J&K........

© Greater Kashmir