Interim orders for property status quo maintained; appointment of retired Chief Justice as commission deemed inconsistent with legal framework
In a recent judgment by the Rajasthan High Court, the court has upheld the interim orders concerning the status quo and attachment of properties under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. The judgment, delivered on August 18, 2026, by a division bench comprising Justices Munnuri Laxman and Sangeeta Sharma, addresses several appeals challenging the interim orders issued by a single judge in various writ petitions.
The court ruled that maintaining the status quo was necessary to safeguard the properties pending the final adjudication of the writ petitions. The appeals were primarily concerned with the authority of the liquidator to attach third-party properties, an issue previously adjudicated by the single judge in the case of Kala Chauhan v. State of Rajasthan, where it was determined that the liquidator did not possess such power.
The appeals also contested the appointment of a retired Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, as a one-man commission to adjudicate the disputes. The court found this appointment inconsistent with the statutory scheme of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and set it aside. The bench emphasized that the statutory framework provides a specific mechanism for asset realization, and the appointment of an external adjudicator violated this framework.
Despite the arguments from the appellants' counsel, the court determined that the interim orders granting status quo should remain in place to preserve the properties until the writ petitions are fully adjudicated. The court noted that the adjudication of the liquidator's authority and the validity of the attachment orders are still pending before the single judge, and thus, refrained from making any legal determinations on these issues at this stage.
The judgment concluded by allowing the appeals to the extent of setting aside the commission's appointment and remitting the matters back to the single judge for further hearings and decision-making on the writ petitions.
Bottom Line :
Interim orders regarding status quo and property attachment under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 were upheld to safeguard the properties, while the appointment of a retired Hon'ble Chief Justice of India as a one-man commission was set aside for being inconsistent with the statutory scheme.
Statutory provision(s): Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
Smt. Megha Tak v. State of Rajasthan, (Rajasthan)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2965154
