Rules and Regulations (By-Laws)
Title:
This Association shall be called “The All India Kshatriya Federation”. (AIKF)
Registered Office:
The Registered Office of the Federation shall be located at 103, Block-2, Kshatriya Towers, 2-1-284, Nallakunta, Hyderabad – 500 044, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
Objectives:
This Federation is constituted for achieving the objects as specified in clause 3 of the Memorandum of Association.
Membership-Eligibility:
The Kshatriya Samithis/Samajams, the constituents of Local/State/Regional Federations and Associations who fulfill the following requirements are eligible to be enrolled as members of the Federation, subject to acceptance of their application by the Governing council of the Federation, whose decision shall be final. No Individual Member is eligible for membership and wherever Local Federations exist their constituents only are eligible.
• The Constituents of Local/State/Regional Federations, Samithis/Samajams are duly registered under the relevant public societies Registration Acts.
• The objects of the Local/State/Regional Federations,Samithis/Samajams are more or less similar. The Bye-Laws of the Samithis/Samajams, etc., provide for definite objects, classification of membership, Membership fee, constitution of General Body and Executive Committee, their meeting, periodical election of office bearers, etc.
• Regular accounts relating to Receipts and Payments etc., are maintained and duly audited every year by qualified auditors.
• Periodical meeting of the Executive Committee/Governing Council and General Body are held as per their Bye-Laws and the proceedings are duly minuted.
• Membership fees are collected as per their Bye-Laws and membership strength is brought up-to date before the Annual General Meeting every year.
• The Samithis/Samajams are regularly working to achieve their objects.
• The effective membership of the Samithis/Samajams is not less than fifty at any given time.
Membership-Classification:
The Governing Council of the Federation shall be competent to consider the application of eligible Samithis/Samajams and admit them as members. Governing Council has the power to admit Samithis/Samajams who do not fulfill the conditions of eligibility in entirety, subject to evolving a transparent system.
The Membership fees:
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The membership fees payable by the Samithis/Samajams at the time of admission shall be not less than the amount of Rs. 5000/-. This amount will be decided by the Governing Council from time to time.
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It is open for the Samithis/Samajams to pay not less than half of the membership fees along with the application for membership
and the balance within six months thereafter. -
The membership fees paid shall form part of the Corpus Fund of the Federation and as such is non-refundable.
Annual Subscription by members:
• For meeting the day-to-day expenditure, to fulfill the objects of the Federation, the member Samithis/Samajams shall pay subscription every year.
• The annual subscription payable is not less than Rs. 2500/-. This amount will be decided by the Governing Council from time to time.
• Any difficulty in meeting the expenditure incurred shall be made good by the member Samithis/Samajams in agreed proportion, whenever necessary, in addition to the Annual Subscription.
Cessation of Membership:
• Any Member Samithi may resign its membership by writing a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Federation enclosing a resolution of the Samithi to that effect, after the dues if any, relating to the membership fees and Annual subscription are cleared off. The resignation shall come into effect from the date of its acceptance by the Governing Council.
• The Governing Council shall have the power to terminate the Membership of a Samithi
o If it is quite inactive and is not fulfilling the conditions of eligibility, including the payment of Membership fees, annual subscription etc.
o If the Member Samithi is working against the objectives and interests of the Federation.
• Before taking such an action the Member Samithi concerned shall be given a reasonable opportunity to state position and views. If there is no reply within the stipulated time or the reply given is not satisfactory, the Membership of that Samithi may be terminated forfeiting the fees paid.
General Body – Composition:
The General body consists of representatives / Nominees of the Member Samithis/Samajams. The number of representatives / nominees from the Member Samithis/Samajams shall be not less than 5 each.
General Body- Meetings:
• The General Body shall meet at least once a year at such place and time as may be decided by the Governing Council. Such meeting shall be called the “Annual General Meeting” (AGM)
• Any General Body other than AGM will be called Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)
• The Governing Council can call an EGM anytime.
• The Governing Council should specify the Agenda of the AGM/EGM.
• The Chairman and in his absence one of the Vice-Chairmen chosen shall preside at the meetings of the General Body.
• Thirty day’s notice shall be given for a meeting of the General Body. However, the Governing Council / Chairman shall have the power to convene a meeting of the General Body at a shorter notice in case of urgency but not less than one weeks’ notice.
• If not less than 1/3 of the member – Samithis give a notice in writing to convene a meeting of the General Body, the Chairman shall do so not later than thirty days from the date of service of such notice to him, giving at least fifteen day’s notice to the members, provided the purpose and subjects to be discussed in the meeting are specially mentioned in the notice.
• Each decision at a meeting shall be taken by simple majority of votes, except where otherwise provided in these rules; where there is equalities of votes, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote as a second vote.
• The Chairman may call a Special or Extraordinary General Body Meeting giving not less than fourteen day’s notice in case of urgency.
Notice:
• The notice must specify the date, time and place of meeting and the Agenda for the meeting
• The notice should be sent to all members of the Federation.
Quorum:
No business shall be transacted at any AGM/EGM unless a quorum is present
• The quorum for a General Body meeting shall be or one -fourth of the total Member-Samithi’s representatives / nominees of the Member Samithis/Samajams. It is open for the Governing Council / General Body to declare that the nominees / representatives of the Member - Samithis which are in arrears of dues for more than one year on the date of Annual General Meeting are not eligible to participate in the General Body meeting.
• All nominated representatives of a Member - Samithis shall be counted in the quorum
• If quorum is not present, the meeting is adjourned and after half-an hour the meeting shall be reconvened and the representatives of Member-Smaithis constitute the quorum.
General Body – Powers and Duties:
The General Body shall have the following powers and duties:
• To review the activities of the Federation and set up guidelines for Governing Council for achieving its objects.
• To elect members of the Governing Council.
• To appoint an auditor for auditing the accounts of the Federation.
• To discuss and pass the annual budget and annual report of the Federation.
• To review and approve the audited statement of accounts for the previous financial year.
• To amend the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations of the Federation in accordance with the procedure laid down in the public societies Registration Act.
• To frame subsidiary Rules for administration of the affairs of the Federation, not otherwise provided in the Rules and Regulations.
• To transact such other business necessary and expedient for fulfillment of the aims and objects of the Federation within its powers.
Governing Council – Composition:
There can be 35 members in the Governing Council (Elected – 27, Co-opted –not more than 2 members from each state.
• The management of the Federation shall vest in the Governing Council, which consists of 27 members comprising the 1 Chairman, 5 Vice-Chairmen, 1 General Secretary, 5 organizing Secretaries, 1 Treasurer and 14 other members. The Chairman will have the powers to co-opt 8 members.
• One of the five Vice Chairmen will always be from the place where the Federation is registered.
• These designations supersede the designations as contained in Document I & II
• All the members of Governing Council, shall be elected by the General Body from among the nominees / representatives of the Member - Samithis/Samajams at the Annual General Meeting. There shall be proper representation in the Governing Council to the Member Samithis/Samajams.
• The Governing Council shall hold office, for a period of three years from the date of election or until fresh election takes place whichever event takes place later, subject to the condition that the total period of office of a Governing Council shall not exceed 3 years and 3 months.
• Any vacancy arising among the members of Governing Council by resignation or otherwise may be filled –in by cooption by the Governing Council from the nominees / representatives of Member Samithis/Samajams and the person so co-opted shall hold office for the unexpired term of office of the Governing Council.
• It is open for the General Body to declare that a nominee / representative of a Member Samithi which is in arrears or dues for more than one year as on the date of the Annual General Meeting is not eligible to be elected to or continue to be a member of the Governing Council thereafter.
• The proceedings of the Governing Council shall not be invalidated on account of a vacancy or vacancies of the membership of the Council, which remains unfilled.
Governing Council – Meetings:
• The Governing Council shall meet at least once in three months at a venue, date and time fixed by the Chairman / Governing Council mutually agreed upon by its members.
• The quorum for a meeting of the Governing Council shall be 9.
• The Chairman shall preside, in his absence the Vice-Chairman representing the region at which the meeting is held will Chair.
• A notice of 15 days shall be given for a meeting of the Governing Council but in case of urgency the Chairman may convene a meeting with lesser period of notice.
• If 9 or more members of the Council give notice in writing to convene a meeting of the Council, the Chairman shall convene the meeting within twenty days from the date of service of such notice to him, by giving fifteen day’s notice to members under certificate of posting, provided the purpose and the subjects to be discussed at the meeting are specifically mentioned in such notice.
• If any member of the Council absents himself / herself for three ordinary consecutive meetings without request for leave of absence, his / her membership of the Governing Council shall cease. However, the Council may restore the membership at the written request of such member within two months from the date of such ceasure, one time during the tenure of the Council.
• Any decisions of the Governing Council shall be by simple majority vote. Whenever the members are equally divided, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to his normal vote.
Governing Council - Powers and Duties:
The Governing Council shall have among others, the following powers and duties:
• To act on behalf of the Federation in all matters and to carry out its objects
• To admit Samithis/Samajams as its Members
• To collect funds in the form of donations or otherwise from individuals, institutions and others and utilize the same for general or specific purposes of the Federation
• To open accounts in the name of the Federation in any Bank or Banks and operate the same
• To prepare the Annual Budget and Annual Report and place them before the Annual General Meeting for its approval
• To do all transactions like purchase, sale, lease, mortgage and exchange of property for the benefit of the Federation, provided that in the case of any transaction exceeding the value of one Lakh rupees, prior consent of the General Body shall be obtained
• To establish Regional Offices of the Federation at suitable places to advance the cause of Federation
• To prescribe forms, registers and accounts to be maintained from time to time
• To appoint sub-committees for specific purposes
• To appoint or dismiss employees, fix their duties and emoluments and otherwise supervise their work and conduct
• To accept resignations of any Member of the Governing Council
• To institute, conduct, defend, compound, compromise or abandon any legal proceedings by or against the Federation and to write off any arrears dues
• To delegate any of its powers to any office-bearer or to a sub-committee and may withdraw any powers so delegated
• To borrow or otherwise rise funds on behalf of the Federation and to spend the same for the achievements of its objects
• To make arrangements for the audit of its accounts
• To call for General Body Meetings and fix agenda for the same
• To invite any individual(s) whose help and guidance will be of immense use, to attend the meetings of the Governing Council for a specific purpose or occasion or on a continuous basis during the term of the Council
• To transect any other business incidental to the administration of the Federation and fulfillment of its objects
• The services of the members of the Council shall be gratuitous.
Disqualification and Removal of Governing Council Members:
• Convicted by a court of law for criminal activity against him in the court of law
• Holding any political post
• Unable to act through mental incapacity
• Working against the interest of the Federation
• Fails to attend three consecutive Governing council meetings
Elections:
Election to the Governing Council will take place once in Three years. The procedure to elect the members of the Governing Council of the Federation shall be as follows
• The returning officer shall not be a member of the General Body and shall be appointed by the Governing Council
• The General Secretary will submit the list of eligible members constituting the General Body to the returning officer.
• Member- representatives of Defaulting (arrears) Member-Samithis can neither vote nor stand for election.
• After Scrutiny and withdrawals the valid nominations shall be circulated to members for voting.
• The office bearers are elected among the elected Governing Council members.
Votes:
• Each eligible member shall have one vote
• All representative Member – Samithis (and their representatives) in arrears will not be eligible to vote.
• If there is equality of votes the person who is chairing the meeting shall have the casting vote.
Funds:
• The funds of the Federation shall consist of Membership fees, annual subscription by member Samithis/Samajams, contributions received from members and non-members for specific occasions and purposes, donations and gifts by individuals and institutions and all other money coming into the hands of the Federation in any manner what so ever.
• The funds of the Federation, whether such funds constitute income or the corpus, shall be utilized only for the attainment of the objects specified and for the day-to-day administration of the Federation.
• The funds of the Federation shall be deposited only in Scheduled Bank(s), The Bank Account(s) shall be opened and operated jointly by the Treasurer along with either the Chairman or the General Secretary
Powers and duties of Office- bearers:
Subject to such resolutions as the Governing Council may otherwise pass in this behalf, the office - bearers of the Federation shall have among others, the powers and duties specified in Rules.
Chairman:
• Chairman can hold the post for two terms only.
• The Chairman shall exercise general control and supervision of the affairs of the Federation and act on behalf of the Governing Council, assisted by the other office- bearers in discharge of his duties
• The Chairman presides over the General Body, Governing Council or any special Committee meetings
• The Chairman has the power to cast his vote in case of a tie.
• Make arrangements with the approval of the Council for safe custody of cash and other properties of the Federation
• Has power to take decision on urgent matters, subject to his getting them satisfied by the Council at its next meeting
• Has power to call for a meeting of the Governing Council or any special Committee and in urgency of the General Body
• Be competent to countersign along with the Treasurer, for purpose of any bank transaction
• Exercise the powers delegated to him by the Governing Council and may subject it to the approval of the Council, delegate any of his powers and duties to the Vice Chairman or in special circumstances to a member of the Council.
Vice- Chairmen:
• There shall be five Vice-Chairmen appointed by the Chairman from the elected Governing Council members
• The Vice-Chairmen shall perform such duties as were entrusted to them from time to time by the Chairman or the Governing Council and they shall in general assist the Chairman in his duties. Whenever the Chairman shall be absent or unable to act, the Governing Council Chairman may entrust the Chairman’s duties to any of the Vice-Chairmen or under special circumstances, to a member, of the Governing Council staying in Headquarters.
General Secretary:
The General Secretary is the Chief Executive officer of the Federation. He shall:
• Be responsible for the general administration of the Federation and carry out the decisions and resolution of the Governing Council and the General Body under the direction and guidance of the Chairman
• Convene meetings of the General Body, Governing Council and sub-committees of the Federation with the permission of the Chairman
• Be an officer to sue or to be sued on behalf of the Federation and all bonds in the name of the Federation shall be in the name of his office
• Have Custody of all records and registers of the Federation, maintain them and correspond on its behalf
• Maintain Membership Register, prepare annual report and assist the Treasurer in getting the accounts audited and in preparation of the Annual budget
• Maintain or cause to the maintained the minutes of the proceedings of all meetings of the General Body. Governing Council and sub-committees, this shall be signed by the Chairman of the respective meeting. These constitute the permanent records of the Federation
• Countersign along with the Treasurer for the purpose of any Bank transaction
• Exercise the powers as may be delegated to him by the Governing Council or the Chairman and may subject to the approval of the Council, delegate any of his powers to the Chief operating officer or any Governing Council Member for a specific period and may withdraw any power so delegated
• Do all that is necessary to carry on generally the day-to-day administration of the Federation
Chief Operating Officer (COO):
• The COO is a full time employee of the Federation recruited by the Governing Council
• He will be responsible for the day to day administration of the Federation
• The COO shall perform such duties as were entrusted to him from time to time by the Governing Council or the Chairman and shall in general assist the General Secretary, whenever the General Secretary shall be absent or unable to act, the Governing Council / Chairman may entrust the duties of General Secretary to the COO or under special circumstances to any of the organizing Secretaries.
• He will be entitled to remuneration as decided by the Governing Council.
Organizing Secretaries:
The five Organizing Secretaries look after the different service activities of the Federation in the different regions of the country, as delegated by the Chairman / General Secretary / the Governing Council. The Organizing Secretaries also assist the General Secretary in carrying out the objects of the Federation.
Treasurer:
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial transactions, funds and securities relating to the Federation
• Maintain accounts including cashbook along with vouchers and produce them for audit
• Take charge of the money and other finances of the Federation and shall make disbursements in accordance with the direction of the Governing Council, the Chairman and the General Secretary.
• Open and operate Bank Account(s) for withdrawal of any amount by issuing Cheques with the countersignature of either the Chairman or the General Secretary
• Make payments of all bills countersigned by the General Secretary
• Prepare budget estimates and annual statement of accounts in consultation with the General Secretary and submit the same along with the audited statement of accounts to the General Body through the General Secretary.
• Be responsible for depositing all the money of the Federation and for safe custody of the valuables in such manner as may be decided by the Governing Council.
• Whenever the treasurer is absent from headquarters or for any reason, the Chairman shall entrust the work to another member of the Governing Council, subject to the approval of the Council and the member so nominated shall discharge all the functions of the Treasurer in his absence.
Annual Reports & Accounts:
The Federation will comply with the Societies act and all accounts have to be prepared in accordance with the statutory standards
• Keeping the accounts of the Federation
• Submitting monthly Receipts and Expenditure statements to the Governing Council.
• Preparation of the annual accounts
• Audited accounts to be submitted to the commissioner of Societies
Auditor:
• Statutory auditor(s) shall be appointed by the Governing Council and ratified by the members at the Annual General Body Meeting.
• A qualified auditor shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting and he shall hold office till the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
• He shall audit the accounts of the Federation prepared by the Governing Council with reference to records. He is entitled to call for and examine any records or documents belonging to the Federation and call for any further information in respect of his audit and make a report to the Federation in accordance with the law.
• The Auditor shall be eligible for such remuneration as may be determined by the Governing Council.
Official Year:
For the purpose of the Federation, year means, the year commencing from 1st of April ending with 31st of March.
Amendments:
Any provisions contained in this constitution may be amended provided that
• No amendment may be made that would have the effect of making the Federation cease to be a society as per law
• No amendment can be made to clauses without the written permission of the commissioner of societies.
• A copy of the resolution amending this constitution must be sent to the commissioner of Societies within 30 days of it being passed.
• No amendment or alteration shall be made in the Memorandum of Association or the Rules and Regulations of the Federation unless two-thirds of the members present at the General Special Meeting convened for the purpose have voted in favor of such amendment or alteration and confirmed by two-thirds of the members present at a Second special meeting of General Body.
Legal Proceedings:
No member of the Federation shall proceed by law against the Federation or any office bearer without giving first notice to the Governing Council which in turn will accord or refuse permission for such proceedings.
Dissolution:
In the event of dissolution of the Federation, all the remaining funds and assets of the Federation, after discharging the liabilities, shall be transferred to any other institution with similar aims and objects registered under the relevant public Societies Registration Acts.