Interim control in society disputes pending trial

The Karnataka High Court at Bengaluru, per Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar, dealt with two connected writ petitions arising from interim orders in O.S. No. 762/2025 and the related appeals in M.A. Nos. 25/2025 and 26/2025.

The dispute concerned control over the affairs of Malnad Technical Education Society. The petitioners sought to challenge the trial court’s common orders dated 04.12.2025 on I.A. Nos. 3 and 4, and the appellate orders dated 14.01.2026 in M.A. Nos. 25/2025 and 26/2025. The relief sought in the writ petitions was to set aside those orders and to permit the petitioners to continue discharging their functions as office bearers.

The High Court allowed both writ petitions. It set aside the impugned common orders passed on I.A. Nos. 3 and 4 in O.S. No. 762/2025, as well as the appellate orders dated 14.01.2026. As a result, I.A. No. 3 filed by the plaintiffs, the Society, was dismissed, and I.A. No. 4 filed by the defendants was allowed.

The operative part of the judgment makes the interim position clear. The court recorded that defendants 1, 2 and 12, having been elected as Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer in the meeting held on 08.09.2025, along with the other defendants who supported that motion, would be entitled to manage the affairs of the Society pending disposal of the suit.

The court also clarified that its findings were only prima facie, meant to ensure smooth conduct of the Society’s day-to-day affairs. It expressly left the final rights of the parties open for determination after a full trial, and directed the trial court to dispose of the suit expeditiously without being influenced by the observations in the writ order or the impugned orders.

For society and trust disputes, the practical lesson is that interim management can be reallocated by writ jurisdiction where the court finds it necessary to preserve orderly administration until trial.