Supreme Court Holds Service Rules Amendment Valid Despite Non-Laying Before Legislature

Case Snapshot

Case Name: S.P. Chandrakar v. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors.

Citation: 2026 INSC 769

Bench: Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Date of Judgment: July 30, 2026

Area of Law: Service Law, Cooperative Societies, Statutory Interpretation

The Judgment in One Line

Registrar's power to frame service rules includes power to amend them; non-laying before legislature is directory, not mandatory.

Why This Judgment Matters

This judgment clarifies two critical aspects of service law and delegated legislation. First, it establishes that the Registrar of Cooperative Societies has the inherent power to amend service rules under Section 55 of the Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Act, and Section 21 of the General Clauses Act supports this interpretation. Second, it resolves the long-standing ambiguity around the word "shall" in laying provisions—the Court held that Section 95(3), requiring rules to be laid before the Legislative Assembly, is directory, not mandatory. This prevents technical non-compliance from invalidating otherwise valid rule-making exercises and has significant implications for cooperative societies across the country.

Background

The appellant, S.P. Chandrakar, and respondent No. 5, Kishor Bagh, were employees of the District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., Raipur. Their service conditions were governed by the Chhattisgarh District Cooperative Central Bank Employee Service Rules, 1982.

Rule 5(3)(a) prohibited employees appointed for technical work from being promoted to non-technical/administ

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