The Constitution of India
Article 243ZJ
Number and term of members of board and its office bearers
(1) The board shall consist of such number of directors as may be provided by the Legislature of a State, by law:
Provided that the maximum number of directors of a co-operative society shall not exceed twenty-one:
Provided further that the Legislature of a State shall, by law, provide for the reservation of one seat for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes and two seats for women on board of every co-operative society consisting of individuals as members and having members from such class of category of persons.
(2) The term of office of elected members of the board and its office bearers shall be five years from the date of election and the term of office bearers shall be coterminous with the term of the board:Provided that the board may fill a casual vacancy on the board by nomination out of the same class of members in respect of which the casual vacancy has arisen, if the term of office of the board is less than half of its original term.
(3) The Legislature of a State shall, by law, make provisions for co-option of persons to be members of the board having experience in the field of banking, management, finance or specialisation in any other field relating to the objects and activities undertaken by the co-operative society, as members of the board of such society:
Provided that the number of such co-opted members shall not exceed two in addition to twenty-one directors specified in the first proviso to clause (1):
Provided further that such co-opted members shall not have the right to vote in any election of the cooperative society in their capacity as such member or to be eligible to be elected as office bearers of the board:
Provided also that the functional directors of a co-operative society shall also be the members of the board and such members shall be excluded for the purpose of counting the total number of directors specified in the first proviso to clause (1).
Why this exists
Co-operative societies in India — covering credit, farming, dairy, housing, and more — were historically plagued by boards that were too large, unaccountable, dominated by a few families, or that excluded marginalized groups and women from leadership. The 97th Constitutional Amendment (2011) added Part IXB, including Article 243ZJ, to standardize governance: capping board size for efficiency, guaranteeing representation for SC/ST and women, fixing terms to prevent indefinite tenures, and allowing limited expert co-option to bring in professional skills like banking or finance expertise, while still keeping ordinary elected members in control of votes and office.
How courts read it
In Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021), the Supreme Court examined Part IXB (which includes Article 243ZJ) and held that provisions applying directly to co-operative societies registered under State laws required ratification by state legislatures under Article 368(2), since 'co-operative societies' is a State subject. The Court struck down parts of Part IXB for lack of such ratification, though provisions confined to multi-state co-operative societies were upheld. This significantly affected how much of Article 243ZJ actually binds states versus operating only where ratified or for multi-state societies.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Article 243ZJ applies uniformly and automatically to every co-operative society in India.
Fact: The Supreme Court in Rajendra N. Shah (2021) held that provisions like this, as applied to state-registered co-operative societies, needed ratification by state legislatures; parts not ratified were struck down, so its actual applicability varies by state and society type. - Myth: Co-opted expert members have full board rights, including votes.
Fact: The text explicitly denies co-opted members voting rights in elections and bars them from becoming office bearers. - Myth: A vacated board seat can always be filled by simply nominating someone.
Fact: Nomination to fill a casual vacancy is allowed only if less than half the board's original term remains; otherwise, a fresh election from the same member category is implied.