Q.Distinguish between the annual general meeting and the special (extraordinary) general meeting of a co-operative society.

The general body works through two kinds of meetings — the regular yearly one and the special one called for urgent business — and they differ in when they are held, why, and by whom they are called.

The AGM is held once every year and takes up the accounts, report, profits, and (in the appropriate year) elections; a special meeting is held whenever needed, only on the specific matter for which it is called.

The general body of a co-operative society functions through two kinds of general meetings, and it is important to distinguish them clearly, since they serve different purposes and are governed by different provisions of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960.

The annual general meeting is dealt with in Section 75 of the Act. It is the regular yearly meeting of the whole membership and is compulsory: every society must hold one annual general meeting every year, within the period fixed by the Act after the close of the co-operative year (the co-operative year of a society ends on 31st March). Its purpose is to enable the members to review the working of the past year and to take the reserved decisions that belong to them. Its business is therefore mainly routine annual business: considering and adopting the audited annual accounts and balance sheet, considering the managing committee's report on the year's working and the auditor's report and the rectification of audit defects, deciding the disposal of the net profits (including dividend and bonus within the limits allowed), providing for the auditor, and — in the appropriate year — conducting the election of the members of the managing committee. If the committee fails to call the annual general meeting in time, the Registrar can step in to have it held.

A special or extraordinary general meeting is dealt with in Section 76 of the Act. It is any general meeting other than the annual one, and it is not held on a fixed date but whenever some urgent or specific matter arises that cannot wait for the next annual meeting. It may be called by the managing committee whenever it thinks fit, and it must be called when the Registrar so directs, or when a valid requisition demanding it is made by the number (or proportion) of members required under the Act, Rules, and bye-laws. A crucial feature is that only the specific business for which the special general meeting is called can be transacted at it.

The main points of distinction can therefore be summarised as follows: (i) as to timing — the AGM is held once every year within a fixed period after the close of the year, while a special meeting is held as and when the need arises; (ii) as to purpose and business — the AGM transacts the routine annual business (accounts, reports, profits, elections), while a special meeting transacts only the particular urgent matter for which it is called; (iii) as to who calls it — the AGM must be called by the committee every year (failing which the Registrar has it called), while a special meeting is called by the committee, or on the direction of the Registrar, or on the requisition of the required number of members; and (iv) as to the governing section — the AGM falls under Section 75 and the special general meeting under Section 76. Together the two kinds of meeting allow the general body both to exercise its regular yearly control and to intervene at any time on important matters.