- According to the e-SahakaraSeva, e-voting is a facility provided by the Telangana State Cooperative Election Authority (TSCEA) to conduct online elections for cooperative societies in Telangana. The TSCEA is responsible for conducting, supervising, and controlling the elections of cooperative societies in accordance with the Telangana Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act, 1995 and the rules and regulations made thereunder. Therefore, it seems that e-voting is valid in RWAs under the TMACS Act 1995, subject to the approval and guidance of the TSCEA.
- According to the e-SahakaraSeva, e-voting will be conducted by the TSCEA or its authorized agency or third party person to monitor the process. The TSCEA will provide the necessary software, hardware, and manpower for conducting e-voting. The TSCEA will also prepare the voter list, issue voter ID cards, generate passwords, and declare the results of e-voting.
- According to the e-SahakaraSeva, e-voting is supposed to be free, fair, transparent, and impartial. The committee or any other person cannot influence or coerce the voters to vote according to their wish. The voters have the right to exercise their franchise independently and confidentially. The TSCEA or its authorized agency or third party person will ensure that there is no malpractice or manipulation in e-voting.
- According to the Model Bye-Laws, there is no mention of e-voting process in the bye-laws of cooperative housing societies under TMACS Act 1995. However, according to the Cooperative Housing Society Election Procedure, if a society wants to adopt e-voting, it has to amend its bye-laws accordingly and get approval from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. The society also has to follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the TSCEA or any other competent authority for conducting e-voting.
To implement e-voting for Housing Society AGM Meetings
Our Apartment based out of hyderabad is registered under the Telangana mutually aided co-operative societies act 1995 and many of the owners residing in various countries. We would like to implement e-voting to make the decision-making more inclusive. 1. Is such e-voting valid in RWAs under the TMACS Act 1995? 2. If yes, is the e-voting will conduct by Committee or any agency or 3rd party person to monitor the process? 3. The voting is crucial for to approve maintenance model for apartment. So Committee may influence the owners to vote according to committee member wish. So in general case who has to conduct e-voting according to TMAC Act 1995? 4. our Bye-laws not mentioned anything about Evoting Process.Please check byelaw https://cooperation.telangana.gov.in/ModelByLaws.aspx here (sino-7- model maintanace under TMACS Act 1995)
Asked 2 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
8 Answers
1) it would be conducted by the chairman or secretary presiding over the meeting
2) it is valid
3) flat owners have to exercise vote independently
4) clarify with the registrar of apartments in Hyderabad
1. eVoting is legal in housing societies all across India. It is legal in all the states in India without exception.
Anything is legal or illegal by basis of what is written in black and white and not on the basis of anybody’s interpretation
2. E-voting is the process of election which will be decided before the notification of election.
3. There is no Bye-law in the Model Bye-laws which provide for the appointment of the Election Committee for conducting elections and voting. However, to ensure a free and fair election, general practice is followed of appointing an Election Committee in the Annual General Body meeting of the association from and amongst the members present in the meeting. The Election Committee so appointed should aspire the confidence of the members of the association with respect to their integrity, knowledge about elections and Bye-laws of the association, neutrality towards candidates and uprightness. The Election Committee appointed by the Board of Management independently will not aspire to be an independent committee, thereby jeopardizing from facing tenet of election i.e. free and fair election.
4. Society bylaws and the State Cooperative Act are the two relevant documents for the same. Most society adopt the bylaws based on model bylaws provided in State Cooperative Act. Most of these bylaws just mention that voting should happen. Nowhere it mentions that voting should be online or offline or booth based or remote.
The fact is, as technology was not advanced when these laws were written, the Act might specifically not mention about online voting. However, that does not exclude online voting.
Here question is not about election voting .It's about Voting in AGM meeting for choosing Maintainance model (option A,Option B ,Option C etc). so according TSmACS 1965 act is commitee to conduct or 3rd party or TSCEA or registratr to be there?
Asked 2 years ago
it must be an item on agenda of AGM
2) meeting would be conducted by Chairman or Secretary of society
I understand that your question is not about election voting, but about voting in AGM meeting for choosing maintenance model. Based on the web search results, I can provide you some information about the process and rules of voting in AGM meeting for cooperative societies in Telangana.
According to the Society Model Bye Law No 96 to 109 - Special General Body Meeting, the committee shall decide the date, time and place of AGM meeting of the society and the business to be transacted thereat. The committee shall also issue a notice of the meeting to all the members at least 14 days before the date of the meeting, along with the agenda and the explanatory statement. The notice shall also specify the mode of voting, whether by show of hands or by ballot or by electronic means.
According to the Important information related to Society AGM Meeting Rules, every active member of the society and in his absence, his associate member shall have one vote only at the AGM meeting. In case of equality of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote. The quorum for every AGM meeting shall be 2/3rd of the total number of members of the society or 20, whichever is less. If there is no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned to a later hour on the same day and at the same place.
According to the Services - Telangana, if a society wants to adopt e-voting for AGM meeting, it has to amend its bye-laws accordingly and get approval from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. The society also has to follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the TSCEA or any other competent authority for conducting e-voting. E-voting will be conducted by the TSCEA or its authorized agency or third party person to monitor the process. The TSCEA will provide the necessary software, hardware, and manpower for conducting e-voting. The TSCEA will also prepare the voter list, issue voter ID cards, generate passwords, and declare the results of e-voting.
Therefore, based on the information available, it seems that voting in AGM meeting for choosing maintenance model can be conducted by either show of hands or ballot or electronic means, depending on the preference and approval of the society and its members. If e-voting is adopted, then it will be conducted by TSCEA or its authorized agency or third party person. The committee or any other person cannot influence or coerce the voters to vote according to their wish. The voters have the right to exercise their franchise independently and confidentially. I hope this helps you to understand how voting works for AGM meeting for cooperative societies in Telangana.
Dear Client
Validity of E-Voting under TMACS Act 1995:
The validity of e-voting in an apartment registered under the TMACS Act 1995 would depend on the rules and regulations framed by the cooperative society and whether they allow for electronic voting.
It's essential to review the cooperative society's by-laws and any amendments made to determine if e-voting is permitted.
Conducting E-Voting:
If e-voting is allowed by the cooperative society's by-laws, the specific procedures for conducting e-voting should also be outlined in the by-laws or determined through a resolution passed during the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
In many cases, the society's managing committee may be responsible for organizing and overseeing the e-voting process.
The committee may choose to appoint a third-party agency to facilitate and monitor the e-voting process to ensure fairness and transparency.
Preventing Influence on Voting:
To prevent any undue influence on the voting process, it is essential that the e-voting process is conducted impartially and in accordance with the cooperative society's rules.
The committee should not exert pressure on owners to vote in a particular manner, as this could be considered a violation of cooperative society laws.
By-Laws and E-Voting:
If your cooperative society's by-laws do not mention the process for conducting e-voting for AGM decisions, you may need to consider amending the by-laws to include provisions related to e-voting.
Consult with a legal expert or the cooperative society registrar's office in your jurisdiction for guidance on amending the by-laws and ensuring compliance with the TMACS Act 1995.
In summary, the specific procedures for conducting e-voting in your cooperative society under the TMACS Act 1995 would depend on the society's by-laws, any amendments made, and the regulations in place.
They can’t force e voting in normal circumstances. It was only undertaken due to covid reasons.
The society can adopt the e-voting during this general body meeting too to decide about the decision of majority with regard to the subject matter.
Anything is legal or illegal by basis of what is written in black and white and not on the basis of anybody’s interpretation