Constitution of India · Part IXB: The Co-Operative Societies
Article 243ZQ: Offences and penalties
In plain words
The State Legislature can by law create offences and penalties relating to co-operative societies. The law must include certain acts as offences.
- Wilfully making a false return or giving false information, or not giving required information.
- Wilfully or without reasonable excuse disobeying a summons, requisition or lawful written order under the State Act.
- An employer failing without sufficient cause to pay a society, within fourteen days, money deducted from an employee's pay.
- An officer or custodian wilfully failing to hand over the society's books, records, cash or property to an authorised person.
- Adopting any corrupt practice before, during or after board or office bearer elections.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
(1) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions for the offences relating to the co-operative societies and penalties for such offences.
(2) A law made by the Legislature of a State under clause (1) shall include the commission of the following act or omission as offences, namely:—
(a) a co-operative society or an officer or member thereof wilfully makes a false return or furnishes false information, or any person wilfully not furnishes any information required from him by a person authorised in this behalf under the provisions of the State Act;
(b) any person wilfully or without any reasonable excuse disobeys any summons, requisition or lawful written order issued under the provisions of the State Act;
(c) any employer who, without sufficient cause, fails to pay to a co-operative society amount deducted by him from its employee within a period of fourteen days from the date on which such deduction is made;
(d) any officer or custodian who wilfully fails to handover custody of books, accounts, documents, records, cash, security and other property belonging to a co-operative society of which he is an officer or custodian, to an authorised person; and
(e) whoever, before, during or after the election of members of the board or office bearers, adopts any corrupt practice.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the official text of the Constitution of India. As amended up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. Text as on 10 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.