Ex-CJI Gavai says ordinance giving Gokul's govt-appointed directors votes will not stand legal test

The state government has appointed four directors to Gokul and given them the right to vote, issuing an ordinance for the purpose. The Opposition has expressed anger, alleging that the ordinance is illegal and that the government wants to take control of Gokul.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says the government took the decision only after consulting the Advocate General, so it will stand up in law. Former Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai, however, has advised that the ordinance will not stand up in law. The matter is in court, so it remains to be seen what decision comes.

Gavai had given the legal opinion that if the government brings an ordinance to give voting rights to expert and government-approved directors, in order to stop the newly elected majority in the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, or Gokul, from taking charge, it will not stand the test of law and the Constitution. He had said such an ordinance would be treated as arbitrary functioning and misuse of powers.

Adv. Shrikrishna Ganbavale, a lawyer at the Kolhapur circuit bench of the Bombay High Court, had sought the legal opinion from Gavai on behalf of the 13 elected directors who form the majority. Gavai gave his opinion on November 3, 2026.

Gavai has said that under Sections 73 AAA and 27(9), approved directors and those nominated by the government have no right to vote in the election of the chairperson or other office-bearers. In his view, granting this right by ordinance in order to negate the majority's mandate is politically motivated and against democratic values.

On November 2, 2026, in Writ Petition 5762/2026, the Bombay High Court had ordered that 25 elected directors be given seven days' notice for the chairperson election to be held on November 10, 2026. Gavai has said that issuing an ordinance while this order is pending would amount to direct interference in the judicial process. In his view, any such ordinance would be liable to be quashed if challenged in the High Court.

What is the hitch? Under Gokul's bylaws and rules, 14 members are needed to elect the chairman. Satej Patil has only 13 members, while the Mahayuti has 12. This is why the chairman's election has not been possible. To end the deadlock, the government has decided to appoint four members, and the Opposition is protesting against exactly this.