Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Rajasthan Co-operative Societies Act, 2001.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan.
3. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification1 in the Official Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires - 2(a) Apex Co-operative Bank means an apex society which is the federal body of the Central Co-operative Banks in the State and is engaged in the business of banking: 2(aa) apex society means a society whose core object is to provide facilities for the operation of other societies affiliated to it and whose area of operation extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan;

1. (b) area of operation of a co-operative society means the geographical area, as specified in the bye-laws, to which the membership and activities of the society are confined in general;
2. (c) bye-laws means the bye-laws of a society, registered or deemed to be registered under this Act and for the time being in force and includes the registered amendments of such by-laws; 3(d) central society means a society whose area of operation is confined to a part of the State and which has in its main objects the promotion of the core objects of, and the provision of facilities for the operations of, other societies affiliated to it, and at least five members of which are societies themselves; 4(da) Central Co-operative Bank means a central society which has primary agricultural credit societies as its members and is engaged in the business of banking;
3. (e) Chief Executive Officer means a person, by whatever name called, who subject to the superintendence, control and directions of the committee, is entrusted with the management of the society;
4. (f) core objects in relation to a co-operative society means the main objects of the society for which it is formed; and which form the basis of its classification as per the rules;
5. (g) Collector means the Collector of a district, appointed under section 20 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (Act No. 15 of 1956);
6. (h) Committee means the governing body of a co-operative society, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of the society is entrusted;
   • (i) co-operative society or society means society registered or deemed to be registered under this Act;
7. (j) co-operative society with limited liability means a cooperative society, in which the liability of its members for the debts of the society, in the event of its being wound up is limited by its bye-laws, -
   • (i) to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them; and
   • (ii) to such amount not more than five times the amount of the share capital subscribed by the members, which they may respectively undertake to contribute to the assets of the society;
8. (k) co-operative society with unlimited liability means a cooperative society the members of which are, in the event of its being wound up, jointly and severally liable for, and in respect of, its obligations and to contribute to any deficit in the assets of the society;
9. (l) Executive Officer means an officer, by whatever name called, who is appointed under sub section (2) of Section 29 to assist the Chief Executive Officer in the management of the affairs of a society subject to the superintendence, control and directions of the committee;
10. (m) family means a family consisting of a husband and wife and their dependent children and the widowed mother of the husband dependent on them;
11. (n) financing bank means a co-operative society, the main object of which is to lend money to other societies and includes a Land Development Bank;
12. (o) Government means the Government of the State of Rajasthan;
13. (p) member means a person joining in the application for the registration of a co-operative society and a person admitted to membership after such registration in accordance with this Act and the rules and the bye-laws and includes a nominal and an associate member; 5(pa) National Bank means the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development established under section 3 of the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development Act, 1981 (Central Act No. 61 of 1981); 6(pb) office bearer means a Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of a co-operative society and includes any other person to be elected by the committee of a co-operative society;
14. (q) officer means the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson Administrator, Liquidator, or a member of a committee and the Chief Executive Officer, by whatever name called, and includes and other person empowered under the rules and the bye-laws to give directions in regard to the business of a co-operative society; 5(qa) primary agricultural credit society means a co-operative society as defined under clause (cciv) of section 5 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Central Act No. 10 of 1949) and is registered under the Act; 7(r) primary society means a society which is neither an apex society nor a central society and which is constituted primarily by individuals as members;
15. (s) prescribed means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;
16. (t) Registrar means a person appointed to perform the functions of the Registrar of co-operative societies under this Act, and includes any person appointed to assist the Registrar when exercising all or any of the powers of the Registrar; 8(ta) Reserve Bank of India means the Reserve Bank of India established under section 3 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Central Act No. 2 of 1934);
17. (u) Revenue Appellate Authority means the officer appointed or designated as such authority under section 20-A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (Act No. 15 of 1956);
    • (v) rules means the rules made under this Act;
18. (w) special resolution means a resolution of the general body of a society which has the approval of more than fifty percent of the members having right to vote and not less than two-third of the members present and voting at the meeting in which it is passed;
    • (x) self help group means a homogeneous group of persons voluntarily formed to save small amounts of their earnings and also to raise loans to be lent to its members on terms, as mutually agreed upon; 8(xa) short term co-operative credit structure society means a society engaged in short term co-operative credit business either at the apex level, central level or primary level and includes the Apex Cooperative Bank, a Central Co-operative Bank and a primary agricultural credit society;
19. (y) tribunal means the tribunal constituted under section 105;
20. (z) weaker sections means such landless agricultural labourers, rural artisans, marginal farmers, small farmers and other economically and socially backward persons as the State Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, specify, having regard to the size of their holding, income and the various zone into which the State is divided for the purpose of determining the ceiling limits under the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 (Act No. 11 of 1973);
21. (za) year means such period of twelve months as may be prescribed for keeping the accounts of a co-operative society.