Srinagar, July 21: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) cannot extend the service of employees beyond the statutory retirement age of 58 years unless the government amends the applicable service rules.

Justice Shahzad Azeem, in a 12-page judgment, dismissed a petition filed by former General Manager and CEO of Urban Cooperative Bank (UCB), Anantnag, Mohammad Shafi Reshi, who had challenged his removal from service before completing a three-year extension granted by the bank's Board of Management.
The court held that the extension itself was illegal as the governing service rules fixed the retirement age at 58 years and did not empower the Board of Management to grant any extension.
"The petitioner had no legal right to continue in service after March 31, 2021. Such extension was beyond the competence of the Board of Management and is non-est in the eyes of law," the court observed.
Reshi, who joined the bank in 1987 and became General Manager and CEO in 2015, retired on March 31, 2021. The Board later granted him a three-year extension, but after the Registrar of Cooperative Societies superseded the Board in 2024 and appointed a Board of Administrators, he was relieved from service in March 2025.
The petitioner argued that his removal was illegal, that the extension was valid, and that RBI approval was mandatory before removing the CEO. He also challenged the appointment of the Board of Administrators.
Rejecting these arguments, the High Court held that Rule 13 of SRO-233 of 1988 clearly fixes the retirement age of cooperative society employees at 58 years and any enhancement can only be made through statutory amendments by the government.
The court further ruled that although Urban Cooperative Banks are not "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution, they perform public functions by accepting public deposits and operating under RBI regulation, making them amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226.
It also declined to examine the legality of the Board of Administrators, observing that disputes relating to the constitution or management of cooperative societies must be resolved under the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies Act.
Dismissing the petition, the court held that relieving the petitioner from service was lawful, as his continuation beyond the age of 58 years had no legal sanction.