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The Constitution, Made Understandable.

Article 243ZQ

Penal Provisions for Corrupt and Unlawful Co-operative Practices

Official heading: “Offences and penalties”

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Source edition
The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
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Part IXB, Article 243ZQ, printed pages 142–143
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1. In One Sentence

Directs the enactment of penal laws punishing corrupt electoral practices, false returns, failure to furnish records, and custody violations.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 243ZQ mandates statutory penal sanctions against financial malpractice, election fraud, and willful obstruction in cooperative societies.

Offences include giving false returns, corrupt electoral practices, failing to hand over records to authorized administrators, and failing to furnish documents demanded by auditors or registrars.

It holds employers liable if they deduct employee contributions for a cooperative society but fail to deposit those funds within thirty days.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

An employer deducts cooperative thrift society savings from workers’ salaries but fails to deposit the funds into the cooperative’s account within 30 days.

Core takeaway: Under Article 243ZQ(1)(d), this withholding is a serious statutory offence punishable under law.
Illustrative Notice: Specific penalties (fines, imprisonment, or disqualification) are prescribed by the competent cooperative statute.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 243ZQ provides criminal and regulatory deterrence against cooperative fraud.

  • Corrupt election practices: Criminalizes bribery, false voting, and election tampering.
  • Records custody: Punishes outgoing officers who refuse to surrender society ledgers.
  • Employer deduction protection: Penalizes non-remittance of employee salary deductions.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions for the offences relating to the co-operative societies and penalties for such offences. (2) A law made by the Legislature of a State under clause (1) shall include the commission of the following acts or omissions as offences, namely:— (a) a co-operative society or an officer or member thereof wilfully makes a false return or furnishes false information, or any person wilfully not furnishes any information required from him by a person authorised in this behalf under the provisions of the State Act; (b) any person wilfully or without any reasonable cause disobeys any summons, requisition or lawful written order issued under the provisions of the State Act; (c) any employer who, without sufficient cause, fails to pay to a co-operative society amount deducted by him from its employee within a period of thirty days from the date on which such deduction is made; (d) any officer or custodian who wilfully fails to handover custody of books, accounts, documents, records, cash, security and other property belonging to a co-operative society of which he is an officer or custodian, to an authorised person; and (e) any person who adopts any corrupt practice before, during or after the election of members of the board or office bearers.
Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata
  • •
    Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
    Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part IXB, Article 243ZQ, printed pages 142–143 • Human source-link check pending

    Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource

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