The Kerala Fishermen Welfare Socieities Act ,1980

' 
I 
• 
THE KERALA FISHERMEN WELFARE SOCIETIES 
ACT, 1980 
Pr1amble: 
&ctions: 
(Act 7 of 1981) 
CoNTr.NTs 
I. Short title, rxtcnt and commencement. 
2 . Definitions. 
3. Declaration of fisheries v1llages. 
4. Fishermen's \Ve1fare societies. 
5. Members of societies 
G. Expulsion of members. 
7. VOte~ of members. 
8. Managem~ nt ot societies. 
9. Constitution of commit tee. . 
10. Disquahficattons and removal of members of co1nmittee. 
11 , Act!> of committee not to be invalidated by informality, vacancy, 
etc. 
12. Annual general body meet tng. 
13. Special general body meetings . 
14. Functions of committee. 
15. Secretary of committee. 
16.. Powers of Director to cancel decision of comm1ttce. 
17, Duties and functions of societies. 
18. Appointment of staff of society. 
19. Grant.) au.d loans by Government. 
20. Power of society to borrow. 
21. Investment of funds. 
22. Rcstriruon on borrowings. 
2 3 . R(lstrict ions on loans. 
24. ~"'1rst charge of society on certain assets. 
!l5. Constttution of l·'und. 
26. Inquiry by Director. 
27. Supervision and inspection. 
28. Powers of revision of Director and Govcrntncnt. 
29. Mode of rccovcrv of sums payable to society. 
30. Accounts and audit. 
31. Directions by Government. 
3:l. Protection of action taken in good faith. 
33. Power to make rules. 
34. Power to make bye-laws . 
:i~ . Repeal and saving. 
34/11 !lOJB. 
• 
' 
I ' ' 
• 
29 
THE KERALA FISHERMEN WELFARE SOCIETIES ACT, 1980° 
(Act 7 of 1981) 
An Act to prouide for the organisation of fisheries viLlage and to constitut-Jtshlrmen 
welfare socitties for such villages u;tth a vtew to develofJ the ccononzic, soctal and 
cultural life nf the ftshernun comnzu1uty in the State of h ·erala. 
Preamble -Whereas the main avocation and means of livelihood of the 
fishermen community in the State of Kcrala is fishing; 
And Whereas the entire econo1ny of more than four hundred villages, 
which arc inhabited mainly by members of the fishermen community, depends 
upon the income of those members frotn fishing operat1ons including sale of 
the catches; 
And Whereas the fishermen arc, to a large extent, indebted to money 
lenders who arc exploiting the economy of the fishermen community in 
general; 
And Whereas the boats, crafts and nets used for fishing are not owned by 
the fishermen, but by others who exploit the fishermen by exproprlating the 
major part of their earnings as rent of such implements and other charges in 
respect thereof; 
.~.~nd Whereas the fishermen are also explo1ted by money-lenders and 
middlemen by purchasing or otherwise depriving them of thcir catches 
without payment of the due price therefor, either by advancing money or 
by any other method; 
And Whereas the fishermen arc so deprived of the lcgiu mate fruits of 
their industry and labour; 
And Whereas it 1s necessary to end explo1tation of fishermen by money­
lenders and middlemen and to develop the econo1nic, soc1al and cultural life 
of the fishermen commnnity; 
BE it enacted in the Thirty-fit ,t Y car of the Republic of India as follows:-
1 . Short t ztle, 1xte,1t and conznzencement .-( 1 ) 1"P i ~ A\ ct rna y be called the 
.Kerala Ftshcrmen Welfare Socicttcs Act, 19HO. 
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala. 
(3) It shall be deemed to have cotne into force on the 21st day of 
November, 1980 . 
2 Difanitions. -In thts Act, unless the context otherwise r~quires,­
(a} "committee" means the committee of a society ~ 
(b) "Director" means the Director of Fi~heries for the State of Kerala 
· and includes any other officer appointed by tl1e Govf'rnmcnt to exercise the 
powers and perform the functions of rh~ Darector under this Act; 
* Received the assent of the Governor on the 16th day of January, 1981 
and published 111 the Kerala Gazette Extraordinary No. 48 dated the 
16thjanuaty, 1981. 
• 
' 30 
(c) "fish'' includes sh~ll-fish, prawns and lobsters ; 
(d) ''Fisheries Officer" 1neans an officer appointed a; sucl1 by the 
Government for each fishcri~s vdlagc to exerc1se the po\vers and perform the 
functions ot the Fisheries Officer under this Act; 
(c) "fisher1nan" me~ns any person engaged mainly in fi'hutg opera­
tions for h1s 1 i velihood; 
.. (f) "fishermen's welfare soctety'' or '~-soctety, mcat,s a society 
constituted by the Government under section 4, 6) 
(g) '(fisheries village ' , means an area declared by the Government 
under section 3 to be a fisherJes vilJage ; 
(h) "fisrung operations, includcs-
(i) fishing by any rneans, mechanical or otherwise; and 
(1i) the sale of 1narine products.by:menlbers of families of fishermen, 
by transporting them to different places by headload or 
cycleload; 
(t) "mat ine products" includes fi~h and ~hell: fish grown or 
cultured and caught from any inland waters. 
Explanation -For the purpo sts of tht s clause, " inland waters', includes 
ponds, tanks and reservoirs; 
(j) "member, means a member of a society; 
(k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 
(1) ''president" means the president, of the comtnittee of a society; 
(m) "secretary" means the secretary of the co~mittee of a society ; 
(n) ''State" means the State of Kerala. 
3. Declaralton of jzslzerzes vtllages.-The Government may, by nottfication 
in the Gazette, declare such of the areas as they consider are Inhabited mainly 
by fishermen to be fisherJcs villages for the purposes of this Act and 
define the local limit" of each such v1llagc. 
4. Fishermen's welfare societies - ( 1) 'fhe Government shall, by nottfi· 
cation in the Gazette, constitute a fishennen's welfare society for each fisheries 
. viJJage by such name as may be specified Jn the notification. 
(2) Every society shall be a body cotporate by the name under which 
it is constituted, having perpetual tuccession and a common seal, with power 
. o acquire, hold and di~po3e of property, both movable and immovable, entet 
into contracts, lJlStttute and defend ~u1ts and other legal proceedings and to 
do all thangs necessary for the purposec; for which it i~ con~tituted. 
5 Members of societies.-(!) Every fisher1nan who permanently resides 
in a fisheries village or cat ries on fishing op~rations from or within a fisheries 
village and who-
(a) has attained the age of eighteen years, and 
• 
0 
0 
• 
, 
31 
' (b) is not of unsound mind, 
shall be dremcd to be a member of the society constituted for that fisheries 
village. 
(2) The Fisheries Officer s ~all, su bj{'ct to ~uch 1 u lcs a~ may b•: made 
in this behalf, prepare and publish in the pr('scrJhccln\::tnn~r a !1st of fi<;herman 
who are deemed to be n1cmbers ofthc soctcty as on the fir~tday ofSeptembcr 
of each year : 
Provided that the Government may dtrctt th~lt in rcspr~ct of any parti· 
cular year <;uch list shall be prepared vvith rrf~rcncc t' such other date as 
may be specified in the notificat1on. 
G E,.pulJlon of tnembers, -( 1) Any n1cn1bcr of ,t society \Vh) has 
acted adversely to the interests of the society m,Ly be C)(pcJlcd upon a rc~olution 
of the gcncr(tl body passed at a spcc1al mc<'ting conveJJCd for the purpose by 
the votes or not less than t\\o-thirds of the total ntunbf;r of n1ctnbcrs present 
and voting at the meeting. 
• 
(2) No (mem bcr shall be C)Cpcllcd under sHbscction (I) \Vithout 
giving htm cln opportunity to n1akc rcprrscnt,ltions. 
7. Votes of rnembers.-( I) ]~very 1ncrn bcr of ll soc1ct y ~hall h.\vc one 
vote in the affairs of the soc1cty . 
Provided that 1n the case of an equality of vote~, the president sh,tll have 
and cxcrc1se a second or casting vote. 
(2) l~vcry member of a society shall cxerci~e his vote in person. 
H. .J1anagemetll oj Soczetles.-Subject to the provisions ot t lus Act and 
the rules made thereunder, the final aut hot ity of ,l socrcty shall vest 1n the 
general body of its members : 
Provided that nothing contained tn thts scctton shall affect the exercise 
by the committee of the powers confert"ed on 1t by this Act or the rules 
made thereunder. 
9. Constztution of commztt:e.-(1) l~or every ~oru~ty, there shalJ be a 
corntnittee consisting of the following persons, namely;-
(a) such number of members, bc1ng not le~s than four and not more 
than eight, as may be determined in such tuanner as n1ay be prtscribed, to 
be elected by the members of the ~octcty in the prcscrJbcd manner from 
among themscl ves ; 
(b) not more than two members to be nominated by the Government. 
(2) The members of the committee shall elect one among thentselves 
to be its president. 
(3) An elected member of the committee sh,tll hold office for a period 
of thrt-e years from the date of his election. 
(4) A nominated member of the committee sh~tll hold office for 
such term ,ts the Government may detern1inc. 
L 
32 
(5) Any me~ber of a committee may resign his office by giving notice 
thereof in writing to the D1rcctor and, on such resignation being accepted, 
shall be deemed to have vacated his office. 
(6) A casual vacancy in the office of a 1nember of a committee may be 
filled up. as soon as may be, by election or nomination, as the ca~e may be, 
and a member elected or nominated to fill such vac£tncy shall hold office for 
the unexpired portion of the ter1n of office of the member \vhose place he fills. 
10. Dtsqualifzcations and rtmoval of membtrs of commzttee.-(1) No p~rson 
shall be elected or nominated as, or continue to be, a member of the 
committee 1f he-
(a) is an officer or servant under the committee ; or 
(b) is an undischatged in)olvent ; or 
(c) is of unsound mind ; or 
(d) has been convicted ·by a criminal court for an offence involving 
moral turpitude, unless such conviction has been set aside. 
(2) The Governn1ent may remove from office any elected member 
ot a committee who-
( a) is or ha, become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned 
in subsection ( l) ; or 
• 
(b) has ceased to be a fisherman ; or C) 
(c) is absent without leave of the committee for more than three 
consecutive meetings of the committee : 
Provided that no member of a committee shaH be removed from office 
on the ground mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b) w1thout giving him an 
opportunity of being heard. 
11. Acts or corntnzttee not to be lnuahdated by uifornlallty, zacancy, etc.-~o act 
done or proceeding taken under (his Act by a committee shall be invali­
dated merely on the ground-
( a) of any vacancy or defect 1n the constitution of the committee ; Of 
(b) or any defect or irregularity in the election or nomination of a 
person acting as a member thereof ; or 
(c) of any defect or Irregularity in such act or proceeding not 
affecting the mertts of the case. 
12 Annual general bo1y meettng. -(1) A general body nteeting of a 
9ociety shall be held once in a year for the purpose of-
(a) approval of the budget with reference to the duties and functions 
of the society prepared by the committee for the ensuing year ; 
(b) election, if, any, iu the prescribed man'1er, of the 1nembers of 
the commtttee other than nominated members ; 
(c) consideration of the audit report and the annual report; 
(P) disposal of the net profit; and 
0 
• 
0 
\ 
te) consideration of any other matter which may be brought forward 
'n accordance with the bye-laws. 
(2) The Director or any other person deputed by him shall ; have the 
right to attend the committee or general body meeting of any society. 
13. Speczal general body rneettngs .-( 1) The committee of a c;ocietv rna y, 
at any time, call a special general body meeting of the society and shall call 
auch meet1ng within one month after receipt of a requtsition 1n \Vr1ting from 
the Director or from such number of n1embers or a proportion of the total 
number of members{ as may be prescribed. 
(2) If a special g~neral body meet1ng ot a society is not called in 
accordance with the requision referred to in subsection (I), the Director 
or any person authorised Ly hirn in this behalf shall have power to call such 
meeting and that meeting shall be deemed to be a meeting called by the 
committee. 
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (I) or sub­
section (2), the Director or any person authorised bv him in this behalf 
may, at any time, call a special general body meeting of the society in 
such manner and at such time and place within the area of its operation as 
he may direct and such meeting shall be deemed to be a meeting called by 
the committee. 
(4) Notwithstanding anything con1ained in the bye-laws of a society, 
the birector or any person authorised by him ;n this behalf may, at any 
time, sumrr. on a meeting of the committee of the society and that meeting 
ahall be deemed to be a meeting called in accordance with the bye-Jaws of 
the society and shall have power to transact all business which can be 
transacted at a meeting of the committee under the bye-laws of the society 
and surh other business as is specially mentioned in the requisition made by 
the Director or the person author1sed. 
(5) The Director or any other penon deputed by him shall have 
the r1ght to attend the committee or general body meeting of any society 
convened 1n accordance with the provisions of this section. 
14. Funttt2ons of com1ntttte -( 1) The management of the affair3 of a 
society shall be vested in the committee of that society. 
(2) The commit~ee shall exercise such other powers and perform such 
other functtons as may be prescribed. 
15. Secretary of commlttee.-( 1) The Fisheries Officer shall be the secretary 
of the committee. 
(2) The secretary shall carry into effect the decisions of the 
cununittee: 
Provided that the secreta1 y shall, in cases where he 1s satisfied that any 
d1:cisiun made by the committee is ultra vires the provisions of this Act or 
.1uy other Jaw for the time being in force or is against the objects of this Act, 
r(;port the matter to the Director within such time as may be prescribed 
.tnd carry the decision into effect if it is not suspended or cancelled by the 
ll1tector. 
-~~---------------------------
34 
(3) The secretary shall perform such other functions, including 
financial funct tons, as may be presrribctl. 
(4) The Government may ttansfer the secretary, and shall do ~tu if 
such transfer ~~ recommended by a resolution of the comtnittee passccln t n 
meetting spcctally caiJcd for the purpose and suppo1ted by the votes of tlu: 
majority of the n1cmbcts of the cotnlnittec. 
16. 11ozvers of Duector to cancel deciszou of conunittce.-If on receipt ••f tt 
report under the proviso to subsectton (2) of section 15 or ot hcrwi,c, t llu • 
I lirector is sat,c;fied that any decision of a committee is ullta tJtrrs the provi· 
sions of this Act or any other law fo1 the titne being in force or is againcu 
the objects of this i\ct, he may. by order in writing, cancel the decision: 
Prov1drd that no decision shall be cancelltd under this section unless 
the con1n1ittec ha~ been given a rcasonahlc opportunity o( sho\ving cnusc 
against. tltc proposed action : 
Provided further that the Director shall have power to ~Lay any ac1 ion 
based on the decision of the committee, pending final decision by him. 
' 17. J)utzes and functions of soczcltes .-Subject to such rules as may he 
made in this b<'half, a society may-
(,l) take tnea~u1es to n1ake avadable fishing in1plcments to Its 
members at reasonable cost ; 
(b) advance loans to the rnemhers for the purchase of fishiug 
in1p1cJnt~nts and effect recovery of sucl1 loans in easy instalments ; 
(c) provide facilities for stor~ge, processing and tnarketing of mariuo 1 
products ; J 
(d) provide fac1ht1cs to the membc1s for the repair and tnaintenauc(' 
of fishing implen1cnts ; , 
(e) cvolvt· and implement scltem<'S for the welfare of the residrut1 
of fishct ics vil Jagcs ; ~ 
(f) provide for the payment of accident reltef to members &lnd theiJ 
families ; 
(g) provide for the payment of incapacity or disability or old agtt 
benefits to mcm bcrs ; 
(h) provide fo1 such other \Vel fare schetnes as would ilnprove th'' 
!tandard of ]Jvjng and amehorate the social condittons of the 1nembers ; • 
( 1) provide for nlatters ancillary or incidental to any of the functious 
aforesaid ; and 
(j) perform such other fanctions as 111ay be prescribed. 
10. Appouzttnent of staff of soctery.- (1) ;\ soc1ety 1nay appoint such 
number of officers and other employees as n1ay be necessary for carrying ou1 
its functions under this Act. 
(2) 'fhe conditions of appointment ,\nd service and scales of pay of 
the officers and servants referred to in sul>sc·ction ( 1) shall be such as may 
he prescribed. 
I 
J 9. Cranlr and loans b;· Governnu''l' -The Govcr11n1ent m<ty, after due 
appro.(Jriation Jnade by the Lcgislattve .1\~seinbly in this behalf, pay to the 
societies by way of grants or loans ~ .. tch an1ounts ,ts they consider necessary. 
20. Power of soczely to bonow.-A society tnay, tro1n tunc to time, 
subject to the provision~ of t!ds Act and to such condittons as may be 
prescribed in this behalf, borrovv any sum required for the put poses of this 
~ct. , 
21. lnvestnletzt of funds.-A society may invest or deposit its funds­
(a) in Government Savings Bank ; or 
(b) in any of the securities specified In section 20 of' the Indtan 
Trusts Act, 1882 (Central Act 2 of 1882); or 
(c) in any bank approved for the purpose l>y the Director; or 
(d) in any other prescribed manner. 
22. Restriction on borrowings .-A society shall receive deposits and loans 
only to such extent and under such conditions as may be prescribed or a!> 
may be specified in the bye-laws. 
23. &strictions on loans.-A society shall not make a loan to any pcrso11 
- other than a member : 
Provided that, with the general or special s.tnction of the Director, a 
society tnay make loans to another society. 
24. First charge oj society on cerfaul assets.-( 1) Notwithstanding any­
thing contained in any la\v for the tin1e betng in force, but subject to any 
prior claim of the Government in respect of land revenue or any n1oncy 
recoverable as land revenue, any debt or outstandJng demand owing to a 
society by auy member or past member or deceased n1ember shall be a fil st 
charge-
(a) upon the fishing implements of such member for the purchase 
of \Vhich the loan was taken from the society by such member; and 
(b) upon any other property purchased in whole or in part out ol 
uny loan given by the soc1ety. 
(2) No person shall transfer any properly which is subject to a 
charge under sub-section ( 1) except with the previous permission in \\·riung 
of the society which holds the charge. '" 
\ 
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained Jn any la\v for the tin1e 
being in torcc, any transfer of property made in contravention of the 
pr OVlSions of sub-section (2) shall be 'oid. 
(4) 1~hc charge created t'ndt"r sub-section ( 1) shall be available a:­
n~ninst any claim of the Govern:rrent an~;n<"{ fron1 ~ny l0an ~ranted by thcllJ 
pfler the grunt of the lo~n hy l hl soc.<:l). 
34fll50Jll. 
36 
25. Constitutiotz of Fund.-( 1) There shall be formed a Fund for each 
s )Ciety to be called the Fisheries Village Society's Fund of the fisheries 
viUage for which the society is constituted and there shall be credited 
thereto- b 
(a) any grants or loans that may be made by the Government under 
section 19 ; 
(b) any grants or loans that may be made by any person or institu­
tion for the purposes of this Act; and 
(c) all sums realised by the societies in carrying out the measures 
referred to in section 17. 
(2) The Fund shall be administered by the committee subject to such 
rules as may be made in this behalf and shall be applied-
(a) for meeting the salaries, allowances and other remunerations of 
the officers and other employees of the society; • 
(b) for meeting the other administrative expenses of the society; 
(c) for meeting the cost of the measures referred to in section 17; 
and 
(d) for repayment of any loans from the Government or from any 
• • • 
person or InStitution. 
26. Inquiry by D,rector.--(1) The Director may, of his own motion 
~..>ron the application of a society, by himself or by a person authorised by ~ 
him by order in writing, hold an inquiry into the constitution, working and ~~ 
financia\ cond1tion of a society. 
(2) An inquiry of the nature referred to in sub-section ( 1) shall be 
held on the application of-
(a) a major1ty of the members of the comtnittee; or 
(b) not less than one-third of the total number of members of the 
soc1ety or the number of members required for the quorum of the general 
body, whichever is less. 
(3) The Director or the person authorised by him under sub-section 
( 1) shall, for the purpose of an inquiry under this section, have the follow­
tng powers, namely:-
' (a) he shall, at all reasonable titnes, have free access to the books, 
accounts, documents, securities, cash and other properties belonging to, 
or in the custody of, the society and may summon any person in possession ~ 
of, or t·espons1ble for the custody of, any such books, accounts, documents, V 
securities, cash or other properties, to produce the same at any place at the 
headquarters of the society or any branch thereof; 
(b) he may summon any person who, he has reason to believe, 
has knonledge of any of the affaus to the society to appear before him at 
any place at the headquarters of the society or any branch thereof and may 
cxatnine such person on oath, and 
I 
37 
. (c) (i). he may, not\vithstanding ~ny rule or b~e-law specifying 
thr pcr1od of nottce for a general body nlecttng of the soc1ety, himself call 
a general body meeting or require the President or Secretary to cal1 a 
ge~eral body meeting at such time and place at the headquarters of the 
soctety or any branch thereof to determine such matters as may be directed 
by him; 
(ii) any meeting called under sub-clause (i) shall have all thtt 
powers of a general body meeting called under the bye-laws of the society. 
( 4) When an inquiry IS made under thts section, the Director may 
communicate the result of the inquiry to the Government with his 
recommendations. 
(5) When an inquiry made under this section reveals only minor 
ctefects which, in the opinion of the Djrector, can be·remedied by the society, 
he may communicate the result of the inquiry to the society. and may also 
direct the society or its officers to take such action within the time specified 
therein to remedy the defects disclosed in such inquiry. 
• 27. Supervision and inspect ton.- (I) The Director ~hall supervise or 
cause to be supervised by a person authorised by him by general or special 
or:ler in writing in this behalf, the working of every society as frequently ai 
he may consider necessary. 
-; (2) The supervision under sub-section (I) may include an inspection 
of the books of the society. 
(3) The Director or any person authorised by the Director under 
sub-section (I) shall at all reasonable times have free access to the books, 
records and accounts of the society and may summon any per(on in 
possession oJ~ or responsible for the custody of, any such books, records 
and accounts, to produce the same for in,pection at any place at the head­
quarcers of the society or any branch thereof. 
( 4) 1 It shall be the duty of ever,• officf!r ~ nrl employee of the society 
to assist in such supervision or ln~pect1on and to furnish any infonnatioll 
that may be required for the purpose. 
(5) The Director or the person authorised hy him under sub-section 
( l) may, by order in writtng, direct the society or 1ts officers to take sucl. 
action as may be specified 1n such order within the time that may be men• 
tioned in such order. 
28. PoH•ers of revzsion of Dtrector and Gouer1lment.-(1) The Directo:­
may of his own mot ton or on apphcation • all for and cxamtne the record ot 
any officer subordtnate to h1m, and the Government rnay of their own motion 
or an application calJ for and cxamtnc the record of the Director, or any 
offic(·r subordtnatc to hun, in rc .. pcct of any procecd1ng under this Act or 
any rule made thereunder to sat1sfy himself or themselves as to the regularity 
)\ Sth h proceeding or the corr~ctnesc;, legality or propriety of any decision 
1, tsscd or order rna de therein and 1f •n any case it appears to the Director 
• 
38 
or the,Gov:ernmcut that <.Lny !)u,;h decision or , •t Jr.. ~h ' ~thl oe nl '};{ific,cl, 
annulled, reversed or remitted for 1 cc•)Hsiderc~Uon, he O• lhey tn " ~Y pa.): 
orders accordingly: 
Provided that every application to the Dtrcctor or the GooJcrntn~nt for 
the exerc1se of the power~ under thts <;ect•on sh,~ll be preferred withJn three 
months from the date on whtch th~ proceeding, dectsi )n 0r orrler t0 'Ahich 
the application relates \Vas c0 -n mnntcatcd to the appl trant 
(2) No order preJudicial to any per~on shall be passed under sub­
section ( 1) unless such person ha~ been given an opportuntty of 'making his 
• rcp1 esentauon. 
(3) The Director or the Government, as the rase may '>e, may 
suspend the execution of the dec IS Lon or ordpr pendtng the cxerctse of his or 
their pawcr under sub-section ( l) in rcspec1 t hcrc0f. • 
(4) The.,Ditector or the G~vern nent tn \\1 ,t\Vard co~t~ in prvC:!eding~ 
under this sect1on to be paid cithet· out of the funds of the soctcty or by such 
party to the application for revision a'i the l>irector or the Govern mer t may 
deem fit. 
29. Mode of recovery of sums payable to ;oczety.-l\ny sun1 due to a society 
under this Act nr any rules made thereundet shall, without prejudice to any 
other 1node of recovery, be recoverable on behalf of the society as an arrear 
of public revenue due on land. 
30. Accounts and audzt.-( 1) Every society <;hall maintain proper 
accounts and other relevant tecor·ds and prcpa1e an annual statement of 
accounts in such torm as may be prc<;crtbed in consultation with the Exa­
miner of Local Fund Accounts. 
(2) The accounts of each soc•cty shall he aud1ted by the Examiner 
of Local Fund Accounts at such intcrv~ls as may be specified by him. 
(3) The examiner of Local .Fund Accounts dnd any person appoint­
ed by him in connection with the audit of the accounts of the <;ocieties shall 
have such r1gLts and prtvilegcs as may be preset ibed. 
(4) No contr1button shaH he recovered by the Government from the 
societ1cs to\vards the pay and allov~ances nf any person c:1ppointed 1n connec­
tion \Vith the audit of the account~ of the 5orrctte) or towards ,tny other 
expenditure involved Jn ~uch audtt. 0 
(5) The accounts of each soc1etv (l<; certified by the Examiner of 
Local Fund Accounts together with the ~" uri1 t l{~port thereon shall be for­
warded annuall\ to the Government 
31. Direcizons by Govemment -(I) Thf' Governmtnt may, from t1me ( 
to time, give to a S<)ciety general inst ructtons, not inconsistent w1th the pro .. 
visions of this Act, to be foHowcd bv t h~ ~oc1ct y. 
(2) In the pcrfonnance of rts functions under thi~ 1\ct, a society 
sha!l not depart from any gencrd.lto~Lrtlcuons given under sub·section (1), 
except with the prev1ous permission of th n Governmrnt. 
.. 
\. 
39 
32. Protection of actron taken ill good fai~h.-No suit, p1 osec.ution or 
other legal proceeding~ shall lie aga1ntiit the GovrJ.!llllCllt or tho Director or 
,uty tncmbcr of the committee or any officer or employee of the Govcrnznent 
or a society for anything whtch t<> in good taith done or intended to be done 
under this Act or the rules or byc-lavvs made thereunder • 
33. Power to make rules.- ( 1) The Go vet n1nent 1nc.1 y, by n(J tifica t ion 
in the Gazette, make ru Jcs to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
(2) In parllcular, and without prejudice to the generality of the 
foregoing power, such rules may provide for an or any of the following 
matters, namely:-
( a) the matters in respect of which a soctety may make bye-laws; 
{b) the procedure to be followed for the Jnakutg of bye-laws and 
canccllat1on or amendment of any bye-law, the publication thereof and the 
date on whicl1 they shall come in to effect; 
(c) the election of members of the committee by the general body of 
a society; 
(d) the requisitioning of a general body meeting of a society; 
"""" (e) the qualifications or disqualifications for membership of the 
~ommittee of a seoiety; 
(f) the qualifications of employees of societies; 
(g) tl1e prohibition against members of the conunittce of a society 
being interested in contracts with the society; 
(h) the mode of investment of funds of a society; 
(i) the restrictions on transactions of a society with non-members; 
(j) the procedure for the recovery of amounts due or payable to a 
• SOCiety; 
(k) the account books and registers to be kept by a society and 
power of the Director to call for any returns of direct the accounts and books 
to be written up; 
(1) the manner of certification of entries in the books of a society 
nnd copies of documents kept by it in th~ cou rsc of its business; 
(m) the stacements and returns to be furnished by a sor.iety to the 
Director; 
(n) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed under 
this Act. 
(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be 
after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a 
total period of fourteen days which may be coxnprised in one session or 1n 
two successive session~, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it l'i 
•O laid or the c;ession irnrne~liately following, the Legjslat1ve Assetnbly makes 
J.ny n1ndificaunn in the rule or dec1des that the rule sltould not be made, the 
--- - -----
40 
rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified for1n or be of no effect, 
as the case 1nay be; so however that any such nlodification or annuhnent shall 
be without prejudice to the validity of anythiltg previously done under that 
rule. 
34. Power to make bye·laws.-(1) A society may, with the approval of 
the Djrector, make bye-Jaws not inconsistent with the provisions ot this Aot 
or the rules made thereunder, for carrying out any of the purposes for which 
it is constituted. 
(2} The Director may cancel or amend any bye-law made by a ~ociety: • 
l>rovided that the society shall be given an opportunity to express its 
views before any bye-law is cancelled or amended. 
35. Repeal and saving.-( 1) The Kerala l•,isbermen Welfare Societies 
Ordinance, 1980 (9 of 1980), is hereby repealed. 
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken 
under the said Ordinance shall be ,deemed to have been done or taken 
under this Act. 
,. 
• 
• 
• 

‹ Prev All Kerala acts Next ›